Photogravure Plates

Garrett, Edmund [Collector/Illustrator] ; Lang, Andrew [Introduction]

Elizabethan Songs [Japan Paper Edition] [Gilded Age Fine Press] [#99 of 225]

Boston: Little Brown, 1891.
A masterpiece of 19th-century American 'Aesthetic design, marrying the lyricism of the Elizabethans with the luxury of Edmund Garrett Illustrations.

A sumptuous Gilded Age production, printed on genuine Japan paper and bound in full vellum. This edition serves as a high-water mark for late 19th-century American bookmaking, featuring an introduction by the legendary Andrew Lang and a staggering 21 full-page photogravure plates. The volume focuses on the 'Golden Age' of English lyric poetry—Spenser, Sidney, Shakespeare, and Jonson—presented in a format that mirrors the elegance of the verses themselves.

KEY FEATURES:
+++ Visuals: 21 full-page photogravure plates (6 in sepia) reproduced from Garrett’s watercolors; 4 smaller photogravures in the intro; and 65 decorative head and tailpieces. 
+++ Binding: Full Japan vellum (cream-colored) with intricate gilt-stamped decorations on the spine and front board; top edge gilt (TEG). 
+++ Content: A curated anthology of Elizabethan lyrics on love and beauty, including "emblematic" sepia figures of Grace, Love, Harmony, Revel, Sport, and Laughter. 
+++ Imprint: Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1891. Limited Edition (Number 99 of 225). 
+++ Specs: Octavo (9.75 inches tall) / 178 pages.

CONDITION: Very Good. Bindings are remarkably tight and square. The Japan vellum remains bright with brilliant gilt. The text is pristine on heavy Japan paper. Provenance Note: Shows evidence of professionally removed library markings: residue from a bookplate on the front pastedown, a light scuff on the spine, and residue on the rear endpages. Despite these minor historic traces, the volume presents as a clean, high-grade collectible.

SCHOLARLY FEATURES
+++ Technique: The use of photogravure for watercolor reproduction was a premium choice in 1891, allowing for tonal depth and 'painterly' qualities that standard lithography could not achieve. 
+++ Literary Curation: Andrew Lang’s introduction places these songs within the broader context of the English Renaissance, emphasizing the transition from folk-song to the refined courtly lyric. 
+++ Market Context: This "Japan Paper" edition was the most expensive tier of the publication, aimed at the elite 'private library' market of the Boston Brahmins.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE ---
Edmund Garrett was a key figure in the 'Boston School' of illustrators, and this work is widely considered his masterpiece. In the 1890s, American publishers like Little, Brown were competing directly with the great London houses (like Kelmscott) to prove that American craft could match European standards.

This 1891 Limited Edition matters because it represents the 'Aesthetic' ideal of the book: the paper is handmade, the binding is animal-skin vellum, and the printing is a labor-intensive photogravure process. It is a physical embodiment of the Elizabethan 'Beautie' it celebrates.

SUBJECTS: Elizabethan Poetry, Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, Andrew Lang, Photogravure, Gilded Age Book Design, Japan Paper, Fine Press, Poetry Anthology, Limited Edition, Illustrated Book, Vellum Binding.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE: Annual American Catalogue 1891.

Item #21691

Price: $150.00