A Rare Presentation Copy of The Masque of the Edwards of England

C. R. Ashbee; Edith Harwood, illus. THE MASQUE OF THE EDWARDS OF ENGLAND. London: Essex House Press, 1902. Limited edition; no. 144 of 300 paper copies (an additional 20 were printed on vellum). Presented by the author; inscribed, signed, and dated by C. R. Ashbee on the first free endpaper. Hardcover in beige cloth-covered boards. Oblong folio; 45, [3]pp. plus final errata leaf; with (17) full-page illustrations, some with touches of hand coloring. Printed in red and black.

16 x 11 3/8 in.

Private Collection, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

C. R. Ashbee (Charles Robert Ashbee) was a designer, architect, author, and social reformer. An influential part of the Arts and Crafts Movement, he founded both the Guild and School of Handicraft and Essex House Press in London in the late 19th century.

Boards with spotting, a few damp stains, edge wear, and most corners heavily rubbed; wear to spine ends with tears to cloth at spine and joints; interior with front hinge cracked, a few leaves with slight separation at head or tail, lacking tissue guards, and occasional gutter cracking; a somewhat fragile copy but with an overall very clean interior.