The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In Seven Parts
Chicago: Thompson & Thomas, 1902. With 40 plates by Gustave Doré throughout text and 12 plates by Sir Joseph Noel Paton (bound in rear). Early reprint. Full red cloth stamped in gilt, silver, and black in the image of a sailor looking out over the sea from a crow's nest with the moon on the horizon. Plain endpapers. [vii], 39. 14" x 11" Faint soiling to boards and text block edges; mild rubbing to edges and boards, with spots of wear to corners; front board gilt dulled with few spots of brightness; gutter starting between pages 27 and 28; mild smudging throughout, otherwise internally clean; page 26 mistakenly printed as 20; overall a near fine copy with striking illustrations in beautiful binding, in custom mylar cover. Item #232381
Edited with complete restorations of the original poem, and copius explanatory notes, together with descriptive and critical essays by Alfred Trumble.
This beautiful edition of Coleridge's longest poem features illustrations from two talented artists. Gustav (or Gustave) Doré is a French artist adored for his wood-engravings, though he was also a painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He passed away in 1883, in the midst of a project illustrating Shakespeare's plays. Joseph Noel Paton came from an artistic Scottish family. His illustrations of this poem stemmed from a competition held by the London Art Union. Out of dozens of artists, Paton won, most likely because he was the Queen of Scotland's personal portrait painter at the time, as Trumble describes in his first critical essay.
While the first edition contains 20 plates by Paton, this early reprint published by Thompson & Thomas only includes 12 plates bound in the rear, though contains all 40 plates by Gustav Doré.
Price: $500.00