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publisher was prosecuted at trial. The Well of Loneliness “was subse- quently banned in England . . . This led to the order of the chief magistrate, Sir Chartres Biron, that all copies be destroyed, and that literary merit presented no grounds for defence. Despite pro- tests from literary figures such as Virginia and Leonard Woolf, and John Buchan, Biron’s judgement was upheld by a Court of Appeal” and was not repealed until 1949, after Hall’s death ( ODNB ). First editions in the dust jacket are distinctly uncommon. £3,250 [120049] 80 HEMANS, Felicia. Modern Greece [bound together with four other works by Hemans, and an anonymous Juvenal satire]. London: John Murray, 1817 6 works bound in 1 volume, octavo (210 × 127 mm). Contemporary calf, black morocco spine label, low flat bands, gilt, rectangular device to compart- ments, single palmette and cinquefoil rolled panel to boards, foliate edge- roll, marbled endpapers and edges. Just a little rubbed, a few minor scuffs, pale toning and occasional spotting throughout, contemporary ownership inscriptions to title pages of three of the pieces, else in very good condition, handsomely bound. A very pretty and coherent Sammelband of verse, primarily com- prised of works by the poet Felicia Hemans (1793–1835): first edi- tions of Modern Greece; Translations from Camoens, and other Poets; Stan- zas to the Memory of the Late King; and Stanzas to the Memory of the Late King, together with the second edition of The Restoration of the Works of Art to Italy , which Byron greatly admired. He criticised Modern Greece, a meditation on Greek independence, despite—or perhaps because of—contemporaries erroneously attributing the work to him, primarily due to his difference of opinion regarding the Brit- ish acquisition of the Elgin Marbles, a move which Hemans sup- ported, and which he vociferously deplored. “Hemans is now recognised by many literary historians as the most notable British poet flourishing between the death of Byron and the rise of Tennyson and the Brownings” ( ODNB ). Jackson, p. 422. £1,500 [123307]
finely bound in their workshop. The Guild was established in 1898 by a bookseller, Frank Karslake, as “a way of publicising and pro- moting the sale of books bound by women” (Tidcombe, pp. 27–8). Karslake set up the Guild following a display in his shop from November 1897 to February 1898 entitled an “Exhibition of Artis- tic Bookbinding by Women”. This exhibition featured the work of female binders (such as Annie S. Macdonald) whom Karslake met showcasing their binding at the Victorian Era Exhibition of 1897, many of who would become founding members of the Guild. In 1899 Karslake’s daughter, Constance, set up a workshop for the Guild in Hampstead where members could train and work. In keeping with the co-operative spirit of the Guild few bindings were signed by the individuals involved, the majority left unsigned, as here. Despite its short history, the Guild is a notable part of binding history as the binders produced “designs that were freer and less stereotyped than those of men in the trade, and they readily exper- imented with new techniques” (ibid., pp. 123–24). Tidcombe, Marianne, Women Bookbinders 1880–1920 , Oak Knoll Press, 1996. £2,750 [130897] 79 HALL, Radclyffe. The Well of Loneliness. London: Jonathan Cape, 1928 Octavo. Original black cloth, spine lettered in gilt, top edge black, others uncut. With the dust jacket. Extremities lightly rubbed, spine ends bruised, contents tanned with occasional foxing, overall an excellent copy in the un- common dust jacket, soiled with some loss to extremities, neat tape repairs to verso. first edition, with “whip” on page 50. This famous and highly controversial lesbian novel went through only two small printings in Britain due to its controversial publication. It was the focus of vicious criticism from the editor of the Sunday Express , James Doug- las, who vilified Hall’s work as pornographic “moral poison”. Gov- ernment officials pressured Jonathan Cape into withdrawing the novel and Cape sent the remaining unbound sheets to Paris for publication in the present edition. When these bound copies were smuggled into Britain, those too were seized by the police and the
All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
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