ROLLLESTON, T. W. (translator). WAGNER, Richard. Tannhäuser. A Dramatic Poem. Presented by Willy Pogany.

London: George G. Harrap & Co., 1911. First edition thus. Quarto. pp. [unpaginated]. Original decorated olive cloth, upper cover and spine elaborately blocked in gilt, blue and black with a striking Art Nouveau design by Willy Pogany. Colour pictorial endpapers. Illustrated throughout with mounted colour plates, monochrome plates, ornamental borders, decorative initials and typographical designs by Pogany. A bright, very good copy. Some light wear to extremities and slight rubbing to lower spine, internally remarkably fresh and clean.

One of the finest achievements of the great Hungarian-born illustrator Willy Pogany, whose richly decorative style helped define the golden age of gift-book production in the years immediately before the First World War. His interpretation of Wagner’s Tannhäuser combines elements of Art Nouveau, Symbolism and the Celtic Revival, producing a volume whose visual impact rivals the text itself. The lavish integration of illustration, typography and page design reflects the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement and places the book among the most beautiful productions of Edwardian publishing.

Wagner’s opera, based upon the medieval German legend of the knight-poet Tannhäuser and his struggle between sacred and earthly love, provided Pogany with ideal material for his romantic and mystical imagination. The result is a masterpiece of book illustration, containing some of his most celebrated colour plates and decorative compositions. Increasingly difficult to find in such attractive original condition, particularly with the delicate cloth binding well preserved and the plates bright and unfaded.

[L1 7 Ledge]