Books Archives - Antique Fairies

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Antique Fairies Admin — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 07:53:06 +0000

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict among four Athenian lovers. Another follows a group of six amateur actors rehearsing the play which they are to perform before the wedding. Both groups find themselves in a forest inhabited by fairies who manipulate the humans and are engaged in their own domestic intrigue. The play is one of Shakespeare’s most popular and is widely performed. Reference: Wikipedia

Below are some examples and price guides of antiques and books depicting A Midsummer Night’s Dream including a Sadler teapot and and a play illustrated by Arthur Rackham.

A TICKET TO THE PREMIERE OF A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Warner Bros., 1935. Extravagantly designed ticket to the star-studded premiere of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, framed. Accompanied by de Havilland’s 1939 copy of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (annotated but not by de Havilland); two souvenir programs from the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago; and a souvenir program from the Milwaukee Auditorium.

Sold for US$1,530 inc. premium at Bonham’s in 2023

[ILLUSTRATED BOOKS]. [RACKHAM, Arthur (1867-1939), illustrator]. — SHAKESPEARE, William (1564-1616). A Midsummer Night’s Dream. London and New York: William Heinemann; Doubleday, Page & Co., 1908. Folio.
40 color tipped-in plates and 30 drawings by Rackham. Original gilt decorated and lettered parchment vellum, original silk ties intact, top edge gilt, others uncut (few spots of light soiling to spine, top edge bumped at rear joint, else fine).

LIMITED EDITION, number 680 of 1000 copies SIGNED BY RACKHAM. A fine and well-preserved copy. Latimore and Haskell, p. 32; Riall, p. 87.

Sold for US$1,500 at Potter & Potter Auctions in 2023

Sadler Staffordshire porcelain teapot with William Shakespeare A Midsummer Nights Dream motif. Defect to print on one side, small chip to interior rim. Measures approx. 7.5 x 3.75 x 6.5 inches. Trademarked to underside.

Sold for US$100 at The Benefit Shop Foundation Inc. in 2023

Forster Robson (fl.1888-1906 British) ”A Midsummer’s Night Dream” 1893 Watercolor and Gouache on Board 30”x40” Image. Museum quality pre-raphaelite composition with nymph. Signed and dated l.r. Original title label on verso. Ornate gilt framing 39”x49”. Excellent condition.

Sold for US$3,500 at MBA Seattle Auction in 2023

A stipple etching after the work by Henry Fuseti depicting a scene from Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. Subjects in print include: Oberon, Queen of the Fairies, Puck, Bottom, and Fairies attending. Originally from “A Collection of Prints, from pictures painted for the purpose of illustrating the dramatic works of Shakespeare, by the artists of Great Britain,” 1803 published by Boydell.

Sold for US$200 at Locati, LLC in 2023

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The Faerie Queene

Antique Fairies Admin — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 10:32:25 +0000

The Faerie Queene is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books I–III were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IV–VI. It is one of the longest poems in the English language and is also the work in which Spenser invented the verse form known as the Spenserian stanza. Reference: Wikipedia

Below are some examples and price guides of editions of The Faerie Queene including a copy for Lord Byron’s library and an edition from 1590.

The first collected edition of Spenser’s poetry, this copy from Lord Byron’s library, with his bookplate. Spenser described his epic romance as a poem “cloudily enwrapped in Allegorical devises.” It earned him a pension from Queen Elizabeth and fame as one of the greatest English poets of his age.

Sold for USD 17,640 at Christie’s in 2022

SPENSER, EDMUND. The Faerie Queene.
London: J. Brindley, 1751. Three volumes. Contemporary calf, gilt edges, neatly rebacked with gilt lettered spine labels and blindstamped decorations. 10 3/4 x 8 inches (27.25 x 20.25 cm); Volume I: [2], lxiii, [1], xxxvii, [3], 453 pp.; Volume II: [2], 450; Volume III: [2], 440; with 29 (of 32) engraved plates after W. Kent. Rubbing and wear to boards and edges, contents with occasional light toning and pale spots.

Sold for $535 (includes buyer’s premium) at Doyle in 2022

SPENSER (EDMUND)
Faerie Queene, 19 original parts bound in 6 vol., LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES, edited by Thomas J. Wise, plates, illustrations and decorations by Walter Crane, light spotting mostly on endpapers, publisher’s white cloth, gilt-blocked illustration on upper covers with lettering in red, gilt lettering on spines, original red pictorial wrappers bound in, t.e.g., others untrimmed, spines toned, covers soiled and bumped, 4to, George Allen, 1897-1896

Sold for £600 at Bonham’s in 2023

1715 Edmund Spenser Fairy Queen Illustrated John Hughes 5v English Literature

Sold for US$355 at Schilb Antiquarian Rare Books in 2022

Spenser, Edmund (1552?-1599) The Faerie Queene. Disposed into Twelve Bookes, Fashioning XII. Morall Vertues. [and] The Faerie Queene, S

Sold for US$30,000 at Swann Auction Galleries in 2022

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Andrew Lang

Antique Fairies Admin — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 14:55:00 +0000

Andrew Lang FBA (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales including The Langs’ Fairy Books, a series of 25 collections of true and fictional stories for children published between 1889 and 1910 by Andrew Lang and his wife, Leonora Blanche Alleyne. The best known books of the series are the 12 collections of fairy tales also known as Andrew Lang’s “Coloured” Fairy Books or Andrew Lang’s Fairy Books of Many Colors. In all, the volumes feature 798 stories, besides the 153 poems in The Blue Poetry Book. Reference: Wikipedia

Below are some examples and price guides of books by Andrew Lang including a complete set of first edition Fairy Books in original cloth bindings.

A complete set of first editions of all 12 of Andrew Lang’s famous series of Fairy Books, all in their original cloth bindings decorated in gilt.

Sold for GBP 6,875 inc. premium at Christie’s in 2019

The Crimson Fairy Book, first edition, plates and illustrations by H.J. Ford, 8 in colour, some slight cracking at gutter, original pictorial crimson cloth, gilt, very lightly rubbed, mostly to spine ends and corners, overall a bright and clean copy, g.e., 8vo, 1903.

Sold for £260 at Forum Auctions in 2023

1906 Fairy Tales 1st ed Orange Fairy Book Andrew Lang Ugly Duckling Magic Mirror

Sold for US$355 at Schilb Antiquarian Rare Books in 2024

Lang, Andrew ‘The Olive Fairy Book’. Longmans, Green, and Company, London 1907 1st Edition. With numerous color and black and white illustrations by H.J. Ford. Hardback book with green cloth boards with gold lettering and illustrations, gilt edges. 336pgs.
Weight Approx., 1.5lbs
Measures Approx., 4.75″x7.5″x1.25″ thick.

Sold for US$500 at Global Auctions Company in 2022

Pink Fairy Book, Illustrated by Andrew Lang

With numerous black and white illustrations by Andrew Lang. (8vo) pink cloth pictorially illustrated and titled in gilt, all edges gilt. First Edition.

Sold for US$300 at PBA Galleries in 2022

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Hans Christian Andersen

Antique Fairies Admin — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 15:46:16 +0000

Hans Christian Andersen (2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Reference: Wikipedia. Many illustrators have created art works for his books including Kay Nielsen and Harry Clarke.

Below are some examples and price guides of books by Hans Christian Andersen as well as some artwork created for his books.

NIELSEN, KAY. 1886-1957.
ANDERSEN, HANS CHRISTIAN. 1805-1875. Fairy Tales. London: Hodder and Stoughton, [1924].
Large 4to. Engraved illustrated title page, engraved tailpieces, 16 full-page black & white engravings, and 12 color plates by Kay Nielsen. Publisher’s deluxe binding of full vellum, upper cover with gilt-embossed vignette (replicating the title page), flat spine with gilt tree at foot and gilt titling at head, top edge gilt. Front free endpaper with remnants of bookplate, slight splaying to boards, gilt on spine slightly faded.

Sold for US$2,040 inc. premium at Bonham’s in 2020

CLARKE, Harry (1889–1931), illustrator. –– ANDERSEN, Hans Christian (1805–1875). Fairy Tales. London: George G. Harrap & Company, [1916].
4to. (Several small marginal tears throughout, large tear to margin on p. 171; not affecting text). 40 plates, (16 tipped in color plates with printed tissue guards), numerous decorations and head–pieces by Clarke. Original pictorial cloth, top edge gilt, others uncut (spine heavily sunned, some staining or darkening to covers, extreme ends worn with repairs, both free endpapers removed, hinges cracked and repaired with tissue); cloth chemise; slipcase.

FIRST TRADE EDITION, of the Irish illustrator’s sought after first book. Clarke was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement whose illustrated books are becoming rarer on the market.

Sold for US$225 at Potter & Potter Auctions in 2023

Andersen, Hans Christian. The Complete Andersen. Translated by Jean Hersholt. Illustrations by Fritz Kredel. 6 volumes. Tall 8vo, silver-lettered cloth-backed boards, slipcase (1 corner split); moderate wear, bookplates. ONE OF 1500 NUMBERED COPIES, SIGNED BY HERSHOLT & KREDEL. New York: Limited Editions Club, (1949) [75/100]

Sold for US$140 at New England Book Auctions in 2022

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