SONGS OF INNOCENCE; By William Blake / with Illustrations by Geraldine Morris
London and New York: John Lane / No. XII in Lane's "Flowers of Parnassus" series. 1902. Geraldine Morris. First Geraldine Morris' Illustrated Edition. Leather with blind- & gilt-stamping. 12mo (5 1/8" x 4 1/8"), bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe in original full fine dark green polished calf with an elaborately gilt-decorated spine with figilt lettering in the second compartment, five hubs, and inner dentelles [S&S name stamped along the top edges of a front blank verso]; beautifully illustrated in the Arts & Crafts style with frontispiece and 7 full-page Burne-Jones' style' delineations by Geraldine Morris, all edges gilt [a.e.g.], marbled blue-green endpapers, partial thin white silk page-marker, 61 pages + [62] Illustrated Tailpiece + [2] Ads. Near Fine / None. Item #6537
Geraldine Morris (1881-1947), daughter of Rev. Ambrose & Ellen Morris of Kenilworth, studied at the Birmingham School of Art. She sold some early line drawings to South Kensington Museum, London. In 1912, Miss Morris married Mr. Arthur Ernest Hopkins (1855-1925), Mayor and then Court Registrar of Chesterfield..
Geraldine earned a reputation for her artwork and exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1911. She gained further notice for her attractive designs for Christmas cards and stained glass. Among her creations were the design and execution of stained glass windows for churches.
RARE & BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED EDITION of Blake's immortal Songs of Innocence.
Binding is solid, clean, with rich green (and some gold) coloration. The frontispiece and the seven charming full-page Kelmscottish illustrations (chapter vignettes and tailpiece) are clean without foxing and minimal uniform age-toning.
The binding in full polished calf (with hubs & dentelles) is of the highest quality and finish as is typical of Sangorski & Sutcliffe. The gilt single border on the covers has some wear as do the edges of the leather. This lovely and handy volume also has attractively marbled endpapers with all edges gilt [a.e.g.]. There are traces of wear--some barely evident in the thin gutters--but no previous ownership marks or bookplates. Light fading to portions of the rich green leather to include traces of golden-green hues.
Price: $295.00