A rare copy of Goethe's Faust
illustrated by Harry Clarke and printed in Great Britain by
Walter Lewis at the University Press, Cambridge, in 1925.
That pressing included the 2000
copy Limited Edition that was prepared for the British and United
States markets. For the British market, the edition credits publication to
George G Harrap and Company, Ltd (London) while for the United
States market, the publishing citation was ascribed to Dingwall-Rock Limited (New
York).
This copy shows the original
unassuming and unadorned grey cloth cover.
Research
indicates that the copy held within the Collection was formerly
owned by the renowned composer, music historian and Handel scholar,
Jacob Coopersmith (1903-1968). Coopersmith has been credited with
reconstructing Handel's Messiah following many years of
research. Following his death, portions of his collection relating
to Handel have since held by the University of Michigan, the
Peabody Conservatory of Music and the University of Maryland.
To the left, we show Harry
Clarke's
exquisitely detailed title page to
Faust.
On the right, we show Clarke's
signature
to one of the 2000 copies from the
Limited Edition of Faust.
Goethe's rendition of Faust is the most known
version of Faustian literature. It is composed as a play, but belongs to
the genre of "Closet Drama", indicating that, rather
than being performed, it is meant to be read. The main characters
include: Faust (a character that has been
linked to both the historical life of Johann Georg Faust and Bidermann's
Legend of the Doctor of Paris);
Mephistopheles; Gretchen (Faust's love); Marthe (Gretchen's neighbour); Valentin
(Gretchen's brother); and Wagner (Faust's
famulus).Faust tells the story of what follows from a wager between
Mephistopheles and God the results in the
arch-villain trying to deflect God's favourite human - Faust - who is striving
to learn everything that can be known, away
from righteous pursuits.
Clarke's contribution to this edition of Faust
is reminiscent of his darker illustrations - most noticeably those he contributed
to Tales of Mystery and Imagination -
but move beyond the horrific to the outright weird. Stylistically, the work is both
superb and - historically - an
important influence on the psychedelic that became well known during the 1960s.
Our Greeting Cards and Reproduction Prints
For connoisseurs of Clarke's work, we have prepared sets of 8 Greeting Cards displaying
colour
images from his designs for Faust and on the left, we show an example of how these Greeting
Cards appear.
Code: HC
F CS(8) Price: US$40.00
Similarly, we have prepared sets of 8 Greeting Cards displaying
the major photogravure images from Clarke's designs for Faust and on the
right, we show an example of how these Greeting
Cards appear.
Code: HC
F PS(8) Price: US$40.00
Also, we have prepared sets of 6 Greeting Cards displaying
the major monotone
images from Clarke's designs for Faust and on the left, we show an example of how these Greeting
Cards appear.
Code: HC
F MS(6) Price: US$30.00
When presented on Greeting Cards, these
images are prepared as tipped-on
plates - in hommage to the hand-crafted
approach typical
of prestige illustrated publications produced in the early decades
of the 20th Century. Each card is
hand-finished, with the image presented
on Ivory card stock (in the case of the colour illustrations) or
White card stock
(in the case of the photogravure and monotone
illustrations) with an accompanying envelope. On the rear of
each card
we also present some information about Harry
Clarke
and the profiled illustration. We have left the interior of the cards
blank so that you may write your own personal message.
Each of our large format reproductions are prepared
with archival quality materials and processes to ensure many years
of enjoyment. In addition, our reproductions are
accompanied by explanatory material relating to Harry Clarke and the
profiled illustration.
To purchase, simply click on the appropriate "Add to
Cart" button and you will be taken through to our Shopping Cart
secured through PayPal. Multiple purchases will be consolidated
by that feature and shipping and handling costs to any
destination in the world are accommodated by our flat-rate fee of
US$20 for every US$200 worth of purchases.
Of course, should you wish to discuss some customised
options, we welcome your contact on any matter through
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