Poetry from Rare Illustrated Books

Come away, O human child To the waters and the wild With a fairy, hand in hand..." -W.B. Yeats A charming drawing by Ethel Jackson Morris, inscribed with a passage of poetry by William Butler Yeats. A school of fantasy illustration emerged in Melbourne in the first part of the twentieth century, inspired by the work and… Read more about this item

London: F.S. Ellis, 1871. Night passed, day dawned, and we grew full of mirth As with the ever-rising wind Still farther lay our threatened death behind, Or so we thought : some eighty men we were, Of whom but fifty knew the shipman's gear, The rest were uplanders ; midst such of these As knew not of our quest,… Read more about this item

Montpellier, 1925. Limited Edition. 'Dieu fait le mal sans malice; Avec des oiseaux tués Et le ralenti des limaces Il commence ma statue Il répare les garnitures De la mer, ses haies de houx, Son système de granit, Toujours mû par les mêmes roues. Maintenant, stupides oiseaux, Vous abandonnez la cage; Oui, la cage des mes os. … Read more about this item

London: Riccardi Press, 1920. First Edition. Beautiful collection of poems by the tender English scholar, Thomas Gray (1716 1771). Includes 'Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College', 'The Progress of Poesy. A Pindaric Ode', 'Elegy Written in a Country Courtyard', 'Hymn to Ignorance. A Fragment', and 'Ode on the Pleasure arising from Vicissitude', among others. Perhaps… Read more about this item

Sydney: Sunnybrook Press, no date. First Edition. Poem published by Australian poet and journalist, Kenneth Slessor (1901 -1971) in veneration of James Tyrell's wonderful old bookshop. "Broadsheets there are, of horrid hangman's tales; Yellow-stained maps from some forgotten book; Journals of convict years in New South Wales, And Captain Cook." [K.S.]. Single folded sheet, 250 mm x 153… Read more about this item

Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1911. First Edition. Florence Kate Kingsford Cockerell. First edition: an Egyptian fragment translated by Gilbert Murray. The classicist explains in his preface that "the origin of this tale is in Demotic Egyptian, in prose, on a fragmentary papyrus dated ‘the first month of winter, in the fifteenth year' of some king unnamed. Palaeographical evidence suggests some… Read more about this item

Sydney: Kemp & Fairfax, 1842. First Edition. Rare, and very fine: a presentation copy (inscribed on the front endpaper to Walter Wrottersley "from the translator") of an unusual publication for this period in Australia, a translation of an obscure commentary on Aristotle. Almost nothing of a philosophical bent was published in Australia before the 1850s and the creation of… Read more about this item

London: Frederick and Warne & Co, 1890. Second Edition. Particularly attractive edition of a rare Kate Greenaway title. First published in 1883 with printed paper wrappers, both early editions of this collection are now uncommon. "On the strength of 'Under the Window' and 'A day in a child's life' (1881), 'Mother Goose' (1881) and 'Little Ann' (1883), the… Read more about this item

Thomas Nelson and Sons: London, 1927. Ethel Everett. I WISH IT WOULD RAIN 'I WISH it would rain, oh! I wish it would rain ; But there isn't a cloud in the sky, And the dust is a-blowing down Buttercup Lane, And everywhere's perfectly dry.' A collection of poems for young children. Perhaps one of the… Read more about this item

San Francisco: Printed by James and Cecil Johnson at the Windsor Press, 1929. LINKS, Julian. Numbered limited edition of 225 copies signed by the author, of which this is number 88. The Ackymals is one of Williamson's short, standalone pieces of fiction from a prolific body of work that extends to well over fifty titles. James and Cecil Johnson… Read more about this item

London: Kegan Paul, 1895. THOMSON, Hugh. A gorgeous collection of Dobson's poetry with Thomson's characteristic illustrated vignettes throughout. Housed in a magnificent rich gilt binding. DEDICATION TO * * * What would our modern maids to-day? I watch, and can't conjecture : A dubious tale?—an Ibsen play?— A pessimist Lecture?- I know not. But… Read more about this item

London: John Murray, 1834. A beautiful overlap of literature and travel description, being a tour through Mediterranean and Continental sites of interest in the life and tales of Lord Byron. Brief biographical descriptions are scattered throughout. Edward Francis Finden's masterful series of steel engravings from the works of J.M.W. Turner, William Westall and other leading landscape and portrait artists… Read more about this item

Paris: Galerie Lutétia, 1920. Limited Edition. GUINEGAULT, G. P.. A fine example of the pochoir printing technique fashionable in France from 1910-1930. Each of the four poems is accompanied by a circular illustration by G. P. Guinegault. Not in Mahè. Four leaves measuring 350 x 225 mm, in original pochoir decorated wrappers, a fine copy. An exquisite limited edition… Read more about this item

Paris: Librairie Gallimard, 1945. Harada, Rihakou. Paul Claudel (1868-1955) a French poet, was the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. Influenced by Rimbaud and the Symbolists, this work is illustrated by Rihakou Harada. A bilingual edition, with poems printed in French and English. Bound in vellum, gilt, illustrated endpapers, 215mm x 285mm, pictorial title, 29 coloured illustrations; a… Read more about this item

Sussex: Pear Tree Press, 1902. Edmund Waller (1606-1687) was respected for his command of language and prowess as an orator. The romantic poems featured in this rare edition are among his more sensitive works and form a pleasing contrast to the Royalist verse penned during the English Civil war. The present edition is limited to 300 copies and is… Read more about this item

London: George C. Harrap, 1930. Willy Pogany. The great epic Persian erotic love poem illustrated by the masterful Hungarian artist, Willy Pogany. Signed by Pogany, limited edition of 750 copies, the English issue, original etching, a lovely copy.

London: Augener Ltd in Association with Adam and Charles Black, 1911. H. Willebeek le Mair [Henriette]. Henriette Willebeek le Mair (1889-1966) was a precocious child artist, her first book being published at the tender age of fifteen. She was actively encouraged by her parents and received instruction from the noted Parisian illustrator, Maurice Boutet de Monvel. Le Mair illustrated… Read more about this item

Kirribili: J.T. Kirtley, 1924. First Edition. Printed on handmade paper with hand-set type and hand-coloured decorations by Donald Finley. Edition limited to 125 copies, numbered and signed by the author and artist. A surprisingly profound collection of works for such an unassuming volume. Scarce. Maorilander poet, Dora Wilcox (Mary Theodora Joyce Wilcox, 1873 - 1953) distinguished herself in… Read more about this item

George Redway: London, 1896. THOMPSON, Hugh. Reprinted from the original edition of 1735, with the addition of a memoir of the author by R. Farquharson Sharp. The spine and cover boards have been beautifully illustrated in gold and Thompson's delightful vignettes appear throughout. Small quarto, original gilt decorated cloth, delightful illustrations and vignettes by Hugh Thompson throughout, a very… Read more about this item

Gate Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London: Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, 1891. First Edition. With Photo-etched illustrations by Mrs E.M. Boyd, Mr R. Andre, and the Author. Small quarto, 64 pages, 240 mm x 180 mm, previous owner's bookplate, previous owner's gift inscription on front free endpaper, slight water damage to upper edge, a very good copy of this… Read more about this item