Signed 1st Edition of Harry Clarkes "Faust" (531/1000) Significant provenance - a rare find for the enthusiast Start Price USD 2,000.00 Current Price USD 2,000.00 Time Left 29 days 1 hours 22 minutes Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Sunday, November 09, 2008 End Time Saturday, February 07, 2009 Location Buderim, QLD See more about 'Signed 1st Edition of Harry Clarkes "Faust" (531/1000)' Description    Goethe's Faust (1925) - illustrated by Harry Clarke (1st Edition)   A gloriously preserved, signed copy of the 1st Edition of Harry Clarke's masterpiece - with significant provenance   A rare copy of Goethe's Faust illustrated by Harry Clarke and printed in Great Britain by Walter Lewis at the University Press, Cambridge, in 1925. That pressing included the 2000 copy Limited Edition that was prepared for the British and United States markets. In Great Britain, the edition credits publication to George G Harrap and Company, Ltd (London) while in the United States, publishing credit was ascribed to Dingwall-Rock Limited (New York).     To the left, we show the original unassuming front cover.     On the right, we show the original intact spine and to the far-right, the original rear cover.       To the left, we show the limitation statement signed by Harry Clarke stating this copy to be 531/1000 in the American 1st Edition.     On the right, we show the effective monotone  frontispiece to the 1st Edition - an example of the superb monotone illustrations throughout by Clarke.         Below, we show each of the End Papers to provide a perspective on the state of preservation for those pages and to illustrate the wonderful design by Clarke. Front Fixed End Paper Front Free End Paper Rear Free End Paper Rear Fixed End Paper This lovely copy of the true American 1st Edition of Faust appears to be complete from front to rear cover - and is in a remarkable state of preservation - particularly as it is now over 80 years old.   Miraculously, the hinges remain completely intact and the original End Papers are in beautiful condition and throughout, there is just the slightest hint of age-toning to the text pages.   This beautiful example appears to have been formerly in the collection of Jacob Coopersmith - possibly the 20th Century's foremost Handel scholar who has been credited with reconstructing Handel's Messiah. Portions of Coopersmith's former collection are held at the University of Michegan, the Peabody Conservatory of Music and the University of Maryland. Coopersmith's signature appears unobtrusively on the Title Page.     To the left, the colour frontispiece for this edition is shown.     On the right, we show the illustrated Title Page by Clarke showing Coopersmith's signature.   Goethe's rendition of Faust is the most known version of Faustian literature. It is composed as a play, but belongs to the genre of "Closet Drama", indicating that, rather than being performed, it is meant to be read. The main characters include: Faust (a character that has been linked to both the historical life of Johann Georg Faust and Bidermann's Legend of the Doctor of Paris); Mephistopheles; Gretchen (Faust's love); Marthe (Gretchen's neighbour); Valentin (Gretchen's brother); and Wagner (Faust's famulus). Faust tells the story of what follows from a wager between Mephistopheles and God the results in the arch-villain trying to deflect God's favourite human - Faust - who is striving to learn everything that can be known, away from righteous pursuits.   Clarke's contribution to this edition of Faust is reminiscent of his darker illustrations - most noticeably those he contributed to Tales of Mystery and Imagination - but move beyond the horrific to the outright weird. Stylistically, the work is both superb and - historically - an important influence on the psychedelic that became well known during the 1960s.     On the right, we show one of the many magnificent half-tone photogravure images of Clarke's haunting interpretation of Goethe's classic tale that appear within the 1st Edition of Faust.   Each of Clarke's brilliant colour, duo-tone, half-tone and monotone illustrations (there are more than 80 in total) appear throughout this 1st Edition - and every one is in wonderful condition.                               To the left, we show one of the many full-page monotone illustrations prepared by Clarke for Faust.   We commend this wonderful example for your consideration and welcome queries from interested parties (it will be our pleasure to discuss the volume in further detail).   The art of Harry Clarke Harry Clarke (1889-1931) is one of a number of artists contributing to what has been termed the Golden Age of Fantasy Illustration. Among his contemporaries - on either side of the Atlantic - were artistis including Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, Kay Nielsen, Warwick Goble, Willy Pogány, Maxfield Parrish and Virginia Sterrett (in Sterret's case, she has been termed 'the female Kay Nielsen').   Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen was his first published work, although he had previously worked on illustrations to accompany Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. That former work had been destroyed in Dublin's devastating 1916 Easter Uprising. A number of commissions followed Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen, including his contributions to Tales of Mystery and Imagination - a project that established his stellar reputation as an illustrator.     Spirit of the Ages   We expect that, like us, you will be captivated by the beauty, power and symbolism of these objects. Each vintage and antique item we offer is drawn from our Collection of objects d'art from the Medieval and Renaissance periods, the Russian Orthodox tradition and the Gothic Revival, fin de siecle, Pre-Raphælite, Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements. When we offer reproduction images, they are also based on artwork held in our Collection.                 The people behind the collection Rosemary and Douglas Colston     Naturally, each of the vintage or antique items we sell is provided with a Certificate of Authenticity.   For all our eBay sales, we accept PayPal only - the fast, easy, and secure way to pay online.   We post through Australia Post and provide an airmail service for international sales as standard - and the purchaser of this wonderful 1st Edition will receive that service free of charge regardless of the domestic or international destination.   Payment is required within seven (7) days of the close of the Auction and our expectation is that shipping will occur within 48 hour of cleared payment (Australia Post advises that delivery to international destinations may be expected within 7-10 working days of despatch).   Every effort has been taken to describe the items accurately and thus, the items are sold as described. Currently, we do not accept returns.   You are also invited to consider our other items , or visit our eBay store online: .   Powered by eBay Turbo ListerThe free listing tool. List your items fast and easy and manage your active items. Place a Bid!