I love the feel of an old fragile book. More than that I love old type. But most of all, in this context, I like intricate illustrations, rich in metaphor and skilled in their portrayal of the text, that compliment the old feel of page, text and type. I stumbled upon (I mean literally, not by way of any memory-hogging toolbar) a copy of the 1925 New York edition of Goethe's Faust printed by Arden Book Company.
What is special about this particular edition, you ask?
Well, this is the edition which contains Harry Clarke's illustrations.
Here are samples that I took screenshots of:
(Click on the images to enlarge.) And please DO see them enlarged!
The non-copyright version is available as a PDF file from the Archive.org website. Here is the link where you can download a scanned copy of the book.
Thank you so much for sharing this, I lovelovelove old art like this too!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome!
ReplyDeleteNext endeavour for me is to find a hardcover edition of this book in some library and then steal it.
And my middle school had a lot of British and Irish stained glass artwork. That is where I know Harry Clarke's works from. With all associated humility, I am a fan.
ReplyDeleteI found these illustrations very beautiful and intricate, but also very moral and Christian.
ReplyDeleteAnd is that necessarily a bad thing?
ReplyDelete