Le Morte Darthur - photo 1
Le Morte Darthur - photo 2
Le Morte Darthur - photo 3

Le Morte Darthur

Lot 181
19.10.2023 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 47 880
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
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Archive
ID 1032833
Lot 181 | Le Morte Darthur
Estimate value
$ 12 000 – 18 000
RICCARDI PRESS – FLINT, William Russell, illustrator. Sir Thomas MALORY (d.1471). Le Morte Darthur: The Book of King Arthur and his Noble Knights of the Round Table. London: Philip Lee Warner publisher to the Medici Society Ltd., 1910-1911.

One of only twelve copies printed on vellum, and sumptuously bound by Riviere & Son. The Borowitz copy. No. 6 of 12 copies printed on vellum from a total edition of 500. The text is based on William Caxton's translation of Malory's work. This is the rarest and most deluxe version of a truly beloved edition. After this first edition it was reprinted in the 1920s and beyond; Flint's romantic depictions of the major episodes in Arthurian legend have become iconic.

Four volumes (254 x 190mm). Printed on vellum with gilt, red, blue, and green initials, some illuminated in gilt and colors. With color-printed plates after William Russell Flint mounted on Whatman paper, each present in two states, the second state has each plate captioned in blue calligraphy with the initial letter and underlining in gold; woodcut vignettes on the title-pages also calligraphically captioned. (Volume 1 title and frontispiece detached and laid in.) Full crushed blue morocco binding by Rivière & Son in elaborate gilt and multi-colored morocco inlay, red morocco doublures; the covers with central panels featuring Excalibur with royal crown before a varying coat-of-arms on a ground of red and white roses, surrounded by inlaid strapwork and gilt ornaments on thickly gilt pointillé grounds, borders of flowers and love-hearts; spine gilt in six compartments with raised bands, gilt-lettered in two, with inlays and pointillé in the others; turn-ins gilt, red morocco gilt doublures with white rose inlays stamped with coats-of-arms and initial "A", watered silk endleaves, stamp-signed by the binders on upper doublures, all edges gilt (scattered few tiny rubs, a little fraying to silk endleaf in vol. 4). Silk chemises and morocco pull-off boxes. Provenance: David and Lulu Borowitz (bookplates; their sale, Sotheby's Parke Bernet, 15 November 1977, lot 293).
Artist:Thomas Malory (1405 - 1471)
Place of origin:England
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
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