THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR

[New York]: Printed by Theodore De Vinne & Co. for Merrill & Baker, 1903. ONE OF SEVEN COPIES, EACH UNIQUE, SIGNED by the artist, the publisher, and the printer, this copy with no number or designated patron. 325 x 240 mm. (12 3/4 x 9 1/2"). [51] French fold leaves.
SPLENDID DARK BROWN CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT AND INLAID TO A DESIGN BY JOHN TEARLE, by H. Jackel & Co. of New York (stamp-signed on front doublure), covers with cresting tulip-roll frame, central inlaid medallion of tan morocco tooled with gilt gothic "S," swirling acanthus leaves in citron, crimson, cobalt blue, green, and lilac morocco extending diagonally from the medallion toward the upper left and lower right, onlaid and gilt flourishes in similar style balancing the design in the other two quadrants, two delicate gilt vines bearing morocco leaves extending horizontally from the central medallion, raised bands, spine compartments with inlaid windblown spray of red tulips and green leaves, gilt lettering, BROWN MOROCCO DOUBLURES framed by gilt rules and inlaid leaves, inlaid tan morocco central panel framed by inlaid leaves and pomegranates, central brown medallion with inlaid leafy garnish above and below it, vellum free endleaves. In the original velvet-lined cloth box. ILLUMINATED by Tearle, WITH rubricated capitals throughout in eight colors, LARGE FLOURISHES OR OTHER DECORATIONS ON EVERY PAGE, 27 large initials, and 23 FINE WATERCOLOR MINIATURES, 18 of these depictions of characters in the play and five of them views. ◆A couple of scarcely noticeable shallow scratches to boards, a handful of leaves with faint (naturally occurring?) discoloration at lower right corner, otherwise AN IMMACULATE COPY, with virtually no signs of use, and the decorative binding unusually lustrous.

This extravagant production was the first in an ambitious planned series of 39 volumes of Shakespeare's plays, all to be limited to just seven copies, all printed on vellum, and all hand painted, each by a different illuminator. The artist at work here was British-born John Tearle (b. 1868), known for creating illuminations in a vaguely Medieval style. "Who's Who in New England" (1909) informs us that he emigrated to America in 1888, but returned to England to study art, serving a seven-year apprenticeship to learn the art of illumination, and graduating from the South Kensington Art School in 1898. He is described as a "designer, illuminating artist, and publisher" based in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He illuminated deluxe books for Merrill & Baker and for Ross Turner, and eventually began to produce his own illuminated manuscripts and printed books. Tearle also created the design for the present binding, its inlaid flourishes resembling the illuminated ones inside the volume. The work is well printed by Theodore Low De Vinne in a fine humanistic typeface that complements the antique feeling of the illumination. De Vinne (1828-1914) was one of the most eminent American printers of his day (as well as a printing historian and a co-founder of the Grolier Club), and his participation here adds a good deal of distinction to this special bibliophilic undertaking. The contemporaneous value of these volumes was commensurate with their beauty. Each volume was priced at the princely sum of $2,000 (roughly the equivalent of $60,000 today). Because Merrill & Baker went bankrupt in 1904 and was out of business by 1906, "Merry Wives" was almost certainly not only the first, but also the last book in this special series. The termination occasioned at least one story touching on bibliomania: court records show that a certain Abby B. Blodgett subscribed to the full series of 39 volumes by giving notes for $78,000, payable in semi-annual installments of $6,000 from September 1, 1904 to September 1, 1910. Once the books no longer were to be issued, her son filed suit to extricate her from this commitment. She was able to wriggle out of her obligation only when she was adjudged to have been of unsound mind when entering into her subscription. Another curious example of the manifestation of bibliophilic passion..