"FOR HOPE, LIKE SPRING, CAME FULL OF TIDINGS GOOD":
SIGNED LIMITED FIRST EDITION OF WALTER CRANE'S RENASCENCE, 1891, ONE OF ONLY 43 COPIES

CRANE, Walter. Renascence: A Book of Verse. London: Elkin Mathews at the Sign of the Bodley Head, 1891. Octavo, mid-20th century full crimson morocco gilt, raised bands, uncut. $2200.

Signed limited first edition, English issue, number 23 of only 43 copies on Japanese Vellum signed by Crane, illustrated with 39 line designs by him, handsomely bound.

Crane developed "a much greater craftsmanship in the art of the book than any other contemporary artist" (Houfe, 103). He created 39 designs for this volume of verse, engraved on wood and photo-engraved by Emery Walker and Arthur Leverett. Many of the poems reflect Crane's increasing involvement, from the 1880s on, in "the politics of art" and his conviction that "the art of the people… would flourish only when the people were free" (DNB). Mathew printed several editions of varying limitations; this one, the finest and most uncommon, consisted of 25 copies for England (with three additional reserved for Crane) and 15 for the United States. With erratum slip at page 33. Massé, 41-42.

Fine condition.