Poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley [Endymion Series]

FIRST EDITION. Octavo, pp. xxii, [2], 333, [3]. Black and red illustrated title-page and individual title-pages for Odes, Sonnets etc. Heavily illustrated throughout with beautiful full-page plates and over 50 head and tailpieces and illustrations within the text by Robert Anning Bell. Bound in publisher's cream cloth over boards, decorative vinery design blocked to upper board and spine in dark green with gilt titles, publisher's device to lower board, brown spine title, decorative endpapers, leaves uncut. Cloth is clean and very lightly creased to spine tips, gilt is bright. Pastedowns and text block lightly foxed, mainly to prelims and edges, small, neat early 20th century gift inscription to ffep. Tissue guard free from tears. A near fine copy. Robert Anning Bell (1863 1933) was for a time the chief designer at the Glasgow School of Art and he went on to become Professor of Design of the Royal Academy of Art. As well as being a book illustrator Bell worked in stained glass and his fine pen and ink illustrations are influenced by his Arts and Crafts background and are very very reminiscent of both woodcuts and stained glass motifs. A beautiful example of Bell's early illustrative work depicting Shelly's nymphs, satyrs, and the Olympians very much in the Art Nouveau style. The first book in the desirable Endymion series published by George Bell and Sons. Dictionary of 19th Century British Book Illustrators, p.61.