A PRE-RAPHAELITE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT: LE MORTE D'ARTHUR, WITH LOVELY COLOR PLATES BY FLINT
(FLINT, W. Russell) MALORY, Thomas. Le Morte D'Arthur. The History of King Arthur and of his Noble Knights of the Round Table. London: The Medici Society, (1929). Octavo, contemporary full crimson morocco gilt, raised bands, top edge gilt.
Early edition of William Russell Flint's splendidly illustrated Morte D'Arthur, with 24 color plates, handsomely bound in full morocco-gilt.
"From 1870 to 1940, the predominant influence on Arthurian illustration was Pre-Raphaelitism. Landscapes recreated with some botanical accuracy, neo-Gothic furnishings, bright colors, complexity of pattern and symbol and sensuously beautiful women were the illustrator's stock in trade. The most extensive pictorial cycle in this tradition was the series of 48 watercolors provided by W. Russell Flint for the Medici Society's deluxe Morte (1910-11)," half of which are reproduced in this edition (Lacy, 45). Flint, who was knighted in 1947, won a silver medal at the Paris Salon in 1913 for his Arthurian illustrations. The first Medici Society edition was published in two quarto volumes in 1911, and was first issued in one octavo volume in 1927. This edition, with modernized spelling, also contains the preface by William Caxton, who first edited and printed Malory's classic in 1485. With index and glossary. Bookplates.
A lovely illustrated volume in fine condition.