Masque of Comus, The

New York: Printed for the Members of The Limited Editions Club at the University Press, Cambridge, 1954. John Milton's "Masque of Comus"—
the Last Book Illustrated by Edmund Dulac

[LIMITED EDITIONS CLUB, The]. [DULAC, Edmund, Illustrator] MILTON, John. The Masque of Comus. The Poem by John Milton, with a Preface by Mark Van Doren & The Airs by Henry Lawes, with a Preface by Hubert Foss. Illustrated with Water-Colors by Edmund Dulac. [New York]: Printed for the Members of The Limited Editions Club at the University Press, Cambridge, 1954.

Limited to 1,500 numbered copies (this copy being No. 715). Quarto (10 3/8 x 7 7/16 inches; 263 x 189 mm.). [8], 57, [2], [1, blank], [12, music], [1, blank], [1, colophon] pp. Six color plates, including frontispiece.

Original quarter parchment over marbled boards. Spine lettered in gilt. Top edge gilt. A near fine copy. In the original black cardboard slipcase with spine lettered in gilt.

"By November 1951, Dulac no longer had working arrangements with American Weekly. He was recovered from his March 1949 heart attack. The second Dulac-Macy book, The Marriage of Cupid and Pysche...had just been distributed in the spring and fall of 1951. Dulac now sought to take up with George Macy Co. the work on pictures for Baron Munchausen that he had put aside when, in July 1948, Macy had agreed to suspend his contract. Dulac was disappointed to learn that Macy had already acquired the illustrations he had needed for Munchausen from Fritz Kredel. But Macy quickly suggested to Dulac several new titles, Amphitryon, Iolanthe, and Comus. Dulac chose Comus. Dulac was to paint 10 pictures...His pace was slow. He did not get started until June 1952. By October he had finished two illustrations. By April 24, 1953, he reported to Macy that he had completed 4 more for a total of 6. A few weeks later, on May 30, Helen Beauclerk wrote Macy of Dulac's death on May 25th. She told Macy that as recently as May 21st, Dulac had been working on his 7th Comus illustration...Comus was the 250th book Macy had made for his Limited Editions Club. It was nearly his last, as he died in 1956 at age 56. Like all his books, Macy's Comus is a beautiful production" (Hughey).

"Illustrated with water-colors by Edmund Dulac, printed in process offset by Sun Engraving Company; designed by John Dreyfus; printed and bound by the Cambridge University Press; set in monotype Bembo; Barcham Green hand-made paper; half vellum, gold-stamped, marbled paper sides; 94 pages" (LEC Bibliography).

Hughey 103. LEC Bibliography 250.