Ulysses (LEC) by JOYCE, James - 1935

Limited Edition, Signed By Henri Matisse and James Joyce JOYCE, James. MATISSE, Henri, [illustrator]. Ulysses [LEC]. With an Introduction by Stuart Gilbert and Illustrations by Henri Matisse. New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1935. Limited to 250 numbered copies (from a total edition of 1,500), signed by both James Joyce and Henri Matisse. Quarto (11 11/16 x 9 1/16 inches; 296 x 230 mm). xv, [3], 363, [7] pp. Twenty-six plates by Matisse, consisting of six etchings, printed by hand, and twenty lithographic drawings, made as studies for the etchings, printed on thin colored papers. Original full brown buckram, embossed in gilt on front cover and spine from a design by LeRoy H. Appleton. Top edge speckled brown, others uncut. A bit of browning to the inner hinges, as usual. An about fine copy. Housed in the publisher's original board slipcase printed on the spine. Some minor wear to the slipcase at corners and edges, but better than usually seen. Housed in a custom red half morocco clamshell. "One of the very few American livres de peintres issued before World War II. According to George Macy, who undertook this only American publication of Matisse's illustrations, he asked the artist how many etchings the latter could provide for five thousand dollars. The artist chose to take six subjects from Homer's Odyssey. The preparatory drawings reproduced with the soft-ground etchings (Matisse's only use of this medium) record the evolution of the figures from vigorous sketches to closely knit, if less spontaneous, compositions." (The Artist and the Book). The Artist & the Book 197. LEC bibliography 71. Slocum and Cahoon A22. HBS 67248. $20,000