Lot Essay
REPRODUCED
Shakespeare's Comedy of the Tempest with illustrations by Edmund Dulac, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1908. Illustration facing p. x, illustrating text on p. 8, no. 2 in table of illustrations
'...Dulac, meanwhile, was working on illustrations for The Tempest which Hodder and Stoughton were to release at Christmas [1908] as one of a series of Shakespeare plays in quatro volumes each illustrated by a different artist; the first six volumes including As You Like It from Hugh Thomson and Twelfth Night from Heath Robinson. Dulac's illustrations were much brighter in colour than those for Stories from Arabian Nights, with reds and yellows occasionally taking over from the predominance of blue in the earlier book. His feelings for the picture as a whole seemed more convincing and showed greater human understanding as the illustrations moved beyond stage scenes and became mood pictures or tone poems. They captured the charm of the Arcadian dream... The publication of The Tempest in November 1908 was again timed to coincide with the Leicester Galleries' exhibition of the original watercolours, and both the art and book critics acclaimed Dulac's work, particularly his treatment of the sea... As with Stories from the Arabian Nights, a de luxe vellum-bound edition of the book, signed by Dulac, sold out on announcement, and sales of the trade edition were so encouraging that Hodder and Stoughton later published a 'Tempest Calendar' with six of the plates mounted in a new decorative green and gold setting designed by Dulac.'--C. White
Shakespeare's Comedy of the Tempest with illustrations by Edmund Dulac, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1908. Illustration facing p. x, illustrating text on p. 8, no. 2 in table of illustrations
'...Dulac, meanwhile, was working on illustrations for The Tempest which Hodder and Stoughton were to release at Christmas [1908] as one of a series of Shakespeare plays in quatro volumes each illustrated by a different artist; the first six volumes including As You Like It from Hugh Thomson and Twelfth Night from Heath Robinson. Dulac's illustrations were much brighter in colour than those for Stories from Arabian Nights, with reds and yellows occasionally taking over from the predominance of blue in the earlier book. His feelings for the picture as a whole seemed more convincing and showed greater human understanding as the illustrations moved beyond stage scenes and became mood pictures or tone poems. They captured the charm of the Arcadian dream... The publication of The Tempest in November 1908 was again timed to coincide with the Leicester Galleries' exhibition of the original watercolours, and both the art and book critics acclaimed Dulac's work, particularly his treatment of the sea... As with Stories from the Arabian Nights, a de luxe vellum-bound edition of the book, signed by Dulac, sold out on announcement, and sales of the trade edition were so encouraging that Hodder and Stoughton later published a 'Tempest Calendar' with six of the plates mounted in a new decorative green and gold setting designed by Dulac.'--C. White