Morte D’Arthur, Tennyson, Alfred Lord; Illustrated and decorated by Alberto Sangorski. Published by Chatto & Windus, London, 1912. Parchment paper boards with red stylized title to front and spine; red top edge. Small 4to – over 9¾” – 12″ tall; 24pp., title page with coat-of-arms and a portrait of Tennyson; three full colour vignettes, colour decorative initials, borders, and illustrations; leaves are French-folded and unopened. Pastedown has a tasteful bookplate with 1932 date. Contents are otherwise in fine condition. Rubbing and a tiny pin hole to lower edge of front board; otherwise, boards are in fine condition and binding is tight. Dustjacket is in very good condition: toning, chip to head of spine, closed tears to edges a small area at lower corner shows top layer paper loss. A beautiful copy. Two additional Alberto Sangorski illuminated titles available: The Sermon on The Mount and Prayers Written at Vailima by Robert Louis Stevenson. Please enquire.
Alfred Lord Tennyson (1892-1909) poem Morte d’Arthur, is a retelling of the third, fourth and fifth chapters of the twenty-first book of Malory’s Romance about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table.
Alberto Sangorski (1862–1932) was a skilled calligrapher and illuminator known for his work in manuscripts and miniatures. His designs often included detailed and extravagant border decorations, initials, and miniature paintings, which can be seen in the illumination of this work. One of his greatest achievements was a unique jewel bound version of Omar Khayyám’s Rubáiyát, now referred to as ‘the Great Omar,’ which never reached the American collector who commissioned it as it was sent across on the ill-fated Titanic in 1912.
