THREE MASQUES. [The Masque of Oberon. The Masque of Blackness. The Masque of Beauty]. by Johnson, Ben (1572-1637) - 1903

Robert Grier Cooke, New York: ., 1903. pp. 58, (1). Engraved frontis portrait illustration of Ben Johnson in two states; one from the original engraving on copper by Houbraken, dated 1738. Thin small 4to. 230 mm. Original full flexible vellum binding, soiled. Title in gold gilt on the front board. Silk ties gone, and the boards are sprung. Limited Edition: Y of only 26 copies printed in Lucca Della Robbia sans serif type, on Provence hand-made deckle edged paper. ** Six illuminated letters and decorations painted by William Cushing Bamburgh (who also wrote the preface). In 1903 The Boston Evening Transcript said of these illuminations: "they represent the modern imitation of antique book-making at its very best. Mr. Bamburgh's decorative style is fine, unrestrained, and imaginative; he combines the best of the old with the best of the new. his title page and his illuminated initial letters are beautiful alike in design and coloring. They show, moreover, a sure artistic sense as well as a thorough knowledge of the antique art they reproduce so well. In the dress given them by Mr. Cooke and Mr. Bamburgh they are made doubly attractive to this bustling and unimaginative age." The whole edition was only 156 copies. Signed by the publisher, Robert Grier Cooke in 1907. He had a short business life (1902-1908), but published some very fine books, including the famous and magnificent Catalogue of the Morgan Collection of Chinese Porcelains. LIMITED TO ONLY 26 COPIES. W32. Signed by Author(s). Hardcover. Very Good.