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Limited edition of 100 beautifully signed and numbered by Willy Pogany at limitation page: "This Edition De Luxe is Limited to 100 copies signed by the artist. This being No. '11' 'Willy Pogany.'" Large 8" x 10 3/4" design. The 1908 deluxe edition features thirty grand color plates from the enigmatic Willy Pogany; eighteen more than later early editions. Cream cloth boards, flourishing gilt cover titles and Pogany design in light blue and gilt, bright gilt spine titles, moderate shelf wear, some rub, discoloration. Thick rough-cut deckled pages very good; attractive toning to endpapers. Bind generally good, square; few areas of bind starting and moderate uneveness to text block as is case with all books from this edition. Stylish antiquarian fountain pen inscription and signature in Francaise inside cover appearing to wish a good and happy year to Madame and Monsieur Garceau from A. C. Givanard and dated "30 Dec. 09." Art nouveau illustrator Willy Pogany is on exhibit w/thirty full-page, beautifully colored plates with captioned tissue guards. Black & white decoration, vignettes and drawings throughout. Intriguing book design and craftsmanship. This limited edition includes a preface by Roger Ingpen, Goethe's dedication, prologues for the theatre and in heaven, an appendix including Percy Bysshe Shelley's translation of works by Goethe, and a special notes section. Near good signed example with near very good leaves and mesmerizing color plates and illustrations remaining attractive. A fine art edition of Goethe's great classic, the remarkable illustrations of which are by the clever Hungarian artist whose work attracted considerable attention both in England and on the continent. Mr. Pogany knows his Faust thoroughly, and realising the immense scope Goethe's drama offers to the imagination, he has painted a series of pictures of rare beauty and originality. The Faustian legend has captured the imagination for centuries. In Goethe's Faust, the reader discovers the most famous expression of this old German tale. The classic story of a man who makes the deal with the devil and pays with his soul. The influence of this theme on literature cannot be understated. The second part of Goethe's masterpiece opens with Faust struggling to recover from the death of his beloved Gretchen. The quick-witted demon Mephistopheles soon persuades him to look beyond his sorrow and enter the world of politics and power, but the great scholar is still eager for new sensations, and asks Mephistopheles to reveal Helen of Troy to him in a vision. Overwhelmed by her beauty, Faust demands she be brought back from the underworld - but even this fails to bring him contentment, and his appetite for knowledge remains unsated. Completed a few months before Goethe's death, this rich and allusive work weaves together a wealth of diverse philosophical ideas and influences, reworking the medieval myth of Dr. Faustus and speculating upon the search for truth in the Age of Enlightenment. Printed in Great Britain by A. C. Fowler, 6, Tenters Street, Moorfields, London, E. C. 210 pages. Insured post. Size: 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall.
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