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116 POTTER, Beatrix. The Tale of Benjamin Bunny. London: Frederick Warne and Co., 1904 First edition with “muffatees” (“muffetees” in the second impression onward) and “we” in Roman type (italics in the second impression onward) on page 15. The regular trade binding of the first impression was either grey or tan paper boards, with no priority between them. Sextodecimo. Original grey paper-covered boards, spine and front cover lettered in dark green, pictorial label on front cover, illustrated endpapers. Frontispiece and 26 colour illustrations by the author. A very good copy indeed, spine gently toned, covers slightly rubbed with a couple of tiny marks, light foxing to edges, plates clean and bright. ¶ Linder, p. 424; Quinby 6. £1,500 [157538] 117 POTTER, Beatrix. The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies. London: Frederick Warne & Co., 1909 uncommon in this condition First edition, one of two indistinguishable printings of July and October 1909. The notice-board that appears in the illustration on p. 14 reads “Peter Rabbit & Mother – Florists – Gardens neatly razed. Borders devastated by the night or year”; this was replaced from the third impression onwards to avoid difficulty
for foreign translators. The trade issue was bound in both brown and green boards, without priority. Sextodecimo. Original brown boards, spine and front cover lettered in white, colour-illustrated front cover label and endpapers. Frontispiece and 26 plates printed in colour, black vignette on title page, all from drawings by the author. Foxing to top edge, contents clean, illustrations bright. A near-fine copy. ¶ Linder, p. 428; Quinby 16. £1,150 [157202] 118 QI, Baishi. Qi Baishi hua ji (“An Album of Paintings by Qi Baishi”). Beijing: Rongbaozhai, 1952 an exquisite album showcasing the work of the “chinese picasso” First edition of this attractive collection of paintings by Qi Baishi, one of the “four great masters of 20th-century Chinese painting” (Perkins, p. 404). Published by a leading Chinese fine arts press, it displays Qi’s ability to capture subjects from the natural world with unmatched fluidity and energy. This is an attractive example of the fine printing for which the Rongbaozhai press remains famous. Founded in 1894 on the legacy of a studio dating back to 1672, Rongbaozhai’s publications are typified by decorative silk brocade bindings and volumes bound as concertinas or in the traditional Chinese xianzhuang style. After the founding of the People’s Republic of
China in 1949, Rongbaozhai became a state-controlled publishing enterprise and continued to specialize in collectable art publications issued in small print-runs for a select political and cultural elite. Quarto, concertina-style (315 × 213 mm). Original decorative silk brocade boards, front cover with calligraphic title label speckled with gold, cream endpapers. With 22 colour
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CHRISTMAS 2022
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