Good King Wenceslas; A Carol Written by Dr. Neale and Pictured by Arthur J. Gaskin with an Introduction by William Morris
Birmingham: Messrs Cornish Bros. 1895. First edition. Quarto (10 1/2 inches tall), original slate blue paper boards, front board decorated in black, uncut. Partially unopened, mild tanning to blank flyleaves, gentle toning to interiors, small chip to lower front board with very slight wear to corners and spine ends. A near-fine copy. Item #1769
"THEREFORE, CHRISTIAN MEN, BE SURE / WEALTH OR RANK POSSESSING / YE WHO NOW WILL BLESS THE POOR / SHALL YOURSELVES FIND BLESSING"
Scarce first illustrated edition of John Mason Neale's popular Christmas carol—featuring six large woodcut plates by Arthur J. Gaskin and an Introduction by William Morris. The first book printed (said to be one of only 125 copies) by the Birmingham Guild of Handicraft Press. A beautiful copy of a fragile book, scarce in this condition.
A major contributor to the Catholic Revival of the nineteenth century, Dr. Neale's "capacity for translating the riches of the ancient and medieval hymnody gave him a significant role in the transformation of Anglican worship and in the communication of the patristic tradition and sacramental doctrine to ordinary congregations" (Geoffrey Rowell). Based on the St. Stephen's Day legend of Duke Vaclav Wratislaw, the medieval patron of Bohemia, Good King Wenceslas first appeared in Carols for Christmas-Tide (1853) with lyrics by Neale and melody by Thomas Helmore. Neale's "skill as a translator of hymns showed itself particularly in his capacity to reproduce the rhythm and metre of the original so that the ancient plainsong melodies could be used for his English versions" (Rowell).
Gaskin "made six woodcut illustrations, all full page, using the common Arts and Crafts device of cutting the text, decoration and illustration as a whole unified design onto the woodblock. He personally printed the initial limited run on hand-made paper." A contemporary review (in The Artist) described the illustrations "as vigorous as the northern wind which shaped the mediaeval legend as it spread, and refreshingly beautiful as the illustrated books which issued from the North Italian presses at the end of the fifteenth century" (The Work of Arthur and George Gaskin Catalogue). The plates are preceded with a short Introduction by William Morris (dated, "September 1894") in praise of Gaskin's "beautiful pictures" and Neale's Ritualistic admiration of Medievalism: "The legend itself is pleasing and a genuine one, and the Christmas-like quality of it, recalling the times of my boyhood, appeals to me at least as a happy memory of past days." Geoffrey Rowell. The Vision Glorious: Themes and Personalities of the Catholic Revival in Anglicanism.
Price: $350.00