Matthewman Sydney (1 results)

First edition, scarce. Matthewman's original fairy tale invokes elements of Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltskin and the Snow Queen, and is concerned with youth, beauty, and death. It is brought to life throughout by Wainwright's distinctive woodcuts, which were inspired by the artwork of the Viennese Secessionists. Matthewman was also the owner of the private Swan Press, which published poems by J. R. R. Tolkien during Tolkien's tenure at Leeds University. In keeping with Matthewman's occupation, The Crystal Casket is set in an arts and crafts paradise, where "if any man discovered that which would help the craftsman or the husbandman, or if any man made a beautiful song, or picture, or the like, him would the King reward with gifts from his treasury" (p. [7]). We have traced copies in just seven institutions, six in the UK and one in Ireland. We can find no record of The Crystal Casket in commerce. Octavo (181 x 142 mm), pp. [28]. Woodcut frontispiece, 3 headpieces and 5 illustrations. Original grey wire-stitched wrappers, title and illustration to front cover in black. Spine repaired with stab stitching, spots of rust soiling, a little creasing to upper edge: a very good copy.…