“THE ENCLOSED PHOTOGRAPH IS RATHER PAINFUL, BUT IT MAY INTEREST YOU TO HAVE IT”: FIRST COLLECTED EDITION OF OSCAR WILDE’S WORKS, WITH TYPED LETTER SIGNED FROM HIS LITERARY EXECUTOR ROBERT ROSS TIPPED IN AND WITH A PHOTOGRAPH OF WILDE TAKEN TWO HOURS AFTER HIS DEATH

WILDE, Oscar. Works. London: Methuen, 1908. Fourteen volumes. Octavo, original publisher’s limp vellum gilt, uncut and largely unopened.

First collected edition of Wilde’s works, one of 80 sets printed on Japanese vellum, bound in publisher’s limp vellum gilt-decorated after designs by Ricketts. With typed letter signed by Wilde’s literary executor Robert Ross and a hand-addressed envelope containing an early print of the famous photograph of Wilde taken two hours after his death tipped in to De Profundis.

“Oscar Wilde: we have only to hear the great name to anticipate that what will be quoted as his will surprise and delight us” (Ellmann, xv.) “The first collected edition of Wilde’s works was issued in 1908 with 14 volumes, 13 with the imprint of Methuen & Co., and one, The Picture of Dorian Gray, with the imprint of Charles Carrington, Paris. The text is taken in most instances from the last editions issued under the superintendence of the author. In some cases the volumes contain additional material which had not previously been reprinted, while some of the volumes contain matter here published for the first time… Some of the volumes contain matter which is not included in any other edition” (Mason, 459). This set collects such classics as Lady Windermere’s Fan, The Happy Prince, Salome, and The Importance of Being Earnest, as well as numerous essays and poems. This edition was edited by Robert Ross, Wilde’s long-time intimate friend and literary executor. Ross’ letter, addressed to Judge Willis Vickery of the Court of Common Pleas in Cleveland, Ohio, with some handwritten additions and corrections, reads: “REFORM CLUB. PALL MALL. LONDON. S.W. 5th August 1910. My Dear Sir, I was so deeply touched at receiving your kind letter of June 30th. It was forwarded to me on the Continent while I was away for my holiday and consequently was delayed. It is most gratifying to me to hear that Wilde’s admirers in America include men of your high position; and I was so delighted to hear of any collector who specializes in his works. While his books have a great sale in this country, I regret to say that he is not regarded with the same admiration which greets him in Germany, at least among men of letters and critics. The latter have grudgingly to admit that his plays are the only ones that bear revival; I am speaking of course, of the playwrights of the last century. ‘Ernest’ [sic] has had a most sensational run at the St. James’s, it was put up in November for four weeks, and it is still running. The enclosed photograph is rather painful, but it may interest you to have it. It was taken about two hours after Wilde died; of course it is a poor photograph owing to the camera being a very wretched one and the Flash Light was not worked with great success; photography was not one of my fortes. Again thanking you most warmly for your kind letter. Believe me, Yours very truly, [signed] Robert Ross.” The photograph shows Wilde’s body surrounded by his trademark lilies. The back of the photograph, written in pencil, reads: “Taken at about 4 p.m. Flash light on. Nov 30th 1900 at Hôtel d’Alsace 13 Rue des Beaux Arts, Paris. Note: Wilde’s head was partly shaved the day before he died but his hair always remained luxuriant & never changed its known colour even in his imprisonment. Robert Ross.” Without extremely scarce dust jackets. Mason, 459-60. Each volume with Vickery’s leather bookplate. A noted Ohio jurist, Vickery was a bibliophile who once served as the president of the New York Shakespeare Society; he was considered to have one of the best private libraries in Cleveland.

Interiors fine; lightest soiling to publisher’s vellum. A fine set, with important provenance.