A House of Pomegranates (1915)

 

Illustrated by Jessie M King

 

 

On the left, we show a rare copy of A House of Pomegranates

that retains the original orange-stamped blue cloth cover - one

of the known variant bindings for that illustrated 1st Edition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To the right, we show the Title Page for

A House of Pomegranates.

 

The 1915 Edition of A House of Pomegranates included, for the first time, a substantial suite of colour illustrations and other

designs by Jessie M King. The Edition was published by Methuen and Co. Ltd (London) and printed by Morrisson & Gribb

Limited (Glasgow).

 

The suite prepared by King draws inspiration from the four fairy tales by Oscar Wilde within A House of Pomegranates:

"The Young King"; "The Birthday of the Infanta"; "The Fisherman and his Soul"; and "The Star-Child".

 

King's illustrations for A House of Pomegranates are considered to be among her masterpieces. It represents what may be,

stylistically, the mid-point of her career and her illustrations show significant changes even from "Seven Happy Days"

produced just two years earlier.

 

In The Art Nouveau Book in Britain (1966), John Russell Taylor makes the following comment on King's suite of

illustrations:

Jessie King illustrated a sumptuous edition of Wilde’s A House of Pomegranates for

Methuen in 1915. Of the sixteen full-page colour illustrations in this book – for which

she also designed the covers, end papers, title-page and decorative initials throughout –

it is difficult to speak too highly. In some of them – ‘His Dream’ or ‘And lo the city’

for instance – there is a delicacy of draughtsmanship and a muted subtlety of colour

range which far surpasses anything in [Arthur] Rackham … In others, particularly ‘I had

never seen anyone so pale’, the colour is distributed with startling boldness, the central

figure being set against the bare white expanse of wall and the tiny accent of colour at

the peephole with the utmost nicety …

 

 

Our Greeting Cards and Reproduction Prints

 

 

Front of Greeting Card

(with envelope)

For connoisseurs of King's work, we have prepared sets of 16 Greeting Cards displaying each of her major colour images for A House of Pomegranates and on the left and right, we show an example of how these Greeting Cards appear.

 

 

 

 

 

Code: JMK HP CS(16)
Price: US$80.00

Rear of Greeting Card

(with envelope)

 

 

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 and the images are presented on Ivory card stock with an accompanying envelope. The rear of each card

carries information about Jessie M King, this wonderful suite and the profiled illustration - we have left the interior of the

cards blank so that you may write your own personal message.

 

Similarly, we have provided options for the purchase of reproductions of these

wonderful images in a superb large format on 12 x 18" sheets and on the right,

we show an example of how these images can appear when framed.

 

Each of those reproductions is prepared with archival quality materials to ensure

many years of ongoing enjoyment.

 

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.

 

We are able to reproduce these images in a variety of sizes and naturally, should

you wish to order a Reproduction Print in another format or individual

Greeting Cards from this suite of images, we welcome your contact through

ThePeople@SpiritoftheAges.com.

 

In the meantime, enjoy perusing these wonderful images from Jessie M King.

 

Every illustration tells a story

Above, we show a pair of framed

reproduction illustrations from

King's A House of Pomegranates.

 

 

 

The colour illustrations

 

Bare limbed and Pipe in hand

 

 

In a deserted Churchyard ...

beyond the City Gates

 

 

 A few bubbles rose where he sank It was like the face of an Angel

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C1 12x18
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C2 12x18
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C3 12x18
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C4 12x18
Price: US$60.00

 

 

The Little Princess had always to

play alone

 

 

Crouched upon the hollow of some

old Oak tree sharing his nuts with

the squirrels

 

 

His Dream: He would bring her Acorn

Cups and dew-drenched Anemones and

tiny glow worms to be stars in the pale

gold of her hair

 

 

In her hand she had a spray of wild

Hemlock that was blossoming

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C5 12x18
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C6 12x18
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C7 12x18
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C8 12x18
Price: US$60.00

 

 

And lo the City lay at my feet

for it is in a Valley

 

 

I had never seen anyone so pale

The Soul in the Watered Garden

of Seven Terraces

Her face was veiled with a veil of gauze

but her feet were naked

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C9 12x18
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C10 12x18
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C11 12x18
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C12 12x18
Price: US$60.00

 

 

White as the Surf it was and like a

flower it tossed on the Waves

 

 

But only a little Child who was asleep

And being weary she sat down under

a Chestnut tree to rest

The Garden of Black Poppies

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C13 12x18
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C14 12x18
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C15 12x18
Price: US$60.00

 

 

Reproduction on 12x18" sheet

Code: JMK HP C16 12x18
Price: US$60.00