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PARABLES AND TALESby Hake, Thomas Gordon, Arthur Hughes (Illus.), and Dante Gabriel Rossetti (Front Cover Design)
London: Chapman & Hall, 1872. First edition, 18 x 12cm (8vo), in publisher's dark teal fine net-grain cloth w/gilt design by Rossetti to fr. cover & gilt title (by Hughes?) to spine, a.e.g. [i-viii], [1] 2-98, [99-104 publ. cat.] pp. w/frontis & 8 full-page wood engravings by the Dalziels after Hughes. Printed at the Camden Press, London. From the collections of Stanley Scott (small label to rear pastedown) & Alan Clodd. On 20 Sept. 1872 Rossetti sent Hake a sketch for the design, "a simple piece of floral decoration" (W.E. Fredeman, "'Woodman Spare That Block': The ... Illus. & Book Designs of DGR" ["JPRS" Spring 1996], p.22). However, Hake replied that he was hoping for a design more representative of his poems, so Rossetti began work on the new design & ca.29 Sept. wrote to Hake's son Alfred that he was trying "to afford a sort of joint symbol - the cradle & spade for birth & death, the Lily of the Valley & Deadly Nightshade as the symbols chosen by the poet to represent the influences affecting them, the crown of thorns for such sacredness as may attend the struggle, & the stars finding their way thence into the cradle" (ibid p.23). On 8 Oct. Rossetti wrote to Hake: "Today at last I am sending you the design for the cover.... The colour used for the binding should be the precise deep greenish blue which Ellis uses for his publications - i.e. Swinburne's, some of Morris's, & my books. By rights the design should be stamped in gold on both sides, which makes the thing far more complete, but if this is not done, then the obverse side should be left blank, not stamped with the design ungilt, which is barbarous. I will write on the sketch itself a few explanations for the man who is to cut it. Much the best man is one who rejoices in the name of De Lacy, & who cuts for Ellis" (ibid p.22). On 18 Dec. Rossetti received a proof for the binding, & expressed his reservations: "The cloth is an approach to the right colour, but not the right one, & the gilding is not nearly deep & coppery enough in tone" (ibid). Happily, the trade issue conforms to Rossetti's original binding instructions. There has been some discussion about which binding is less common, the decorated or plainer one: Fredeman states that "a very few copies were issued with a cover design by Rossetti" (ibid p.23), while Ray (166D) suggests that the plain one is rarer. We have seen at least 10 copies with the Rossetti design, but only 3 without--in any case both states are decidedly uncommon. Binding Very Good (corner tips sl. bumped & worn, & lt. dampstain to fr. ep. & fore-edge of rear cover); contents Very Good (recto of half-title & final advert page browned, & lt. tidemarks to upper fore-edges of 1st 13 leaves). Rossetti p.43, White 171, Reid 92, Fredeman 48.6 & 93.33, Ray 166D (binding repr. p.102) & 180, Colbeck 2, de Beaumont 123, Goldman 242.
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