Wise, John R. and Walter Crane. The First of May: a Fairy Masque. London: Henry Sotheran & Co., 1881.
I have to be honest I’m not familiar with the work of John R. Wise or Walter Crane. But as an artist myself the illustrations inside this book (every page has an engraving) was the reason I chose The First of May as my ‘pet book’. Though the first thing that caught my attention about this book was its size. I don’t think I have ever seen a book this large before. I was eager to browse through the pages to see what kind of book this one was. The artwork has an Art Nouveau style with decorative details in each plate.
The light tan leather cover is extremely heavy. Judging by the weight and rigidness of the cover it makes me think that the board is actually wood (though there is no way I can confirm it). The lettering on the cover and spine is embossed in gold, and the book edge is gilded.
The endpapers are beautiful and look like cloth or wallpaper. They have an arabesque design with plants, fruits and figures in beige and dark brown. The pastedown has a border with the same gold embossing as the cover that creates a nice frame to the endpapers. Also in the pastedown I noticed in tiny letters the information about the bookbinder which says: “BOUND BY ZAEHNSDORF”. Inside the front cover I also found Walter Crane’s bookplate. I’m really curious about the illustration here and the bookplate itself, so I will have to investigate more about it later on. On the back of the front endpaper there is a note in pencil that says “Greatest Crane Work”. I wonder if that was the thought of the previous owner.
The book measures 39 cm X 48 cm (the spine is 3.8 cm thick), which makes it close to a folio size. However, its width is larger than a folio. The binding is confusing to me. Each folio is attached to the book with cloth tape. It seems that the page was cut from the binding to be engraved and then taped back to the book. The paper feels like hot pressed watercolor paper. It seems to be made of rag. They have a frame embossed where each illustration seems to be glued down. The illustrations are photo-engraved and printed by Goupil & Co. in a different type of paper that is off-white and feels smooth and slick. The photogravures are printed in gray to reproduce the original graphite drawings. These are called India paper proofs. According to the entry about India paper on Wikipedia, this is a type of paper that from 1875 was made of bleached hemp and rag fibers, producing a thin and opaque paper, popular for printing Bibles.
The process of photogravure is really time consuming using copper plates, acid resist and ink. Each printmaker has its own unique way to make a photogravure that is based on experience and equipment. Here is a video showing the basic process:
I found many interesting things about this book. It is dedicated to Charles Darwin (Leaf III) “from the author & the artist” and I plan to do some research to know more about the reason behind it. According to John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller (which sells a copy of this book) Water Crane did the drawings, layout and lettering in pencil. This particular copy is no. 46 of 300 and is numbered and signed by Walter Crane in the first leaf.
I have been thinking a lot about the reason behind the size of this book. It really looks like a gift edition or maybe a portfolio. I cannot imagine this book on someone’s lap, it’s just too heavy and large. It was probably made to be on top of a table or some sort of display. It has 57 engravings from the copy number to the entirety of the play (composed by 52 out of the 57 designs).
I am excited to explore this book more, and learn about the author and the illustrator.
Physical Description: LVI leaves : illustrations ; 39 x 48 cm
“To Charles Darwin from the author & the artist”–Leaf III.
“India proofs. £6:6s. 300 copies only, signed: Walter Crane”–First leaf.
Title within ornamental border.
All text hand lettered.
Signature: headband in blue, white and purple. (I can’t figure out how the binding works in this book, but I will update after more research)
Material Description: Photogravures on off-white India paper mounted on embossed rag paper. Illustrations printed with gray ink. Text hand-lettered in pencil. Cover in light tan leather and gold embossing. Book edge gilded.