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Signed and numbered at limitation page: "This Edition is limited to 520 copies, numbered and signed by the Artist. Of these, Nos. 1 to 260 are for sale in Great Britain and Ireland, and Nos. 261 to 520 in the United States of America. No. "485, Arthur Rackham". Large 7 3/4" x 10" design. Original quarter vellum over cream-colored boards, stylized gilt cover design and spine titles, some corner, edge wear, rub, discoloration. Front also features gilt impression of Rackham mermaid. Rough-cut deckled pages generally fine, clean; one page w/corner clipped. Small printed bookplate inside cover: "The Tower Room, Dartmouth College Library"; and, small stamp at copyright: "229454". Bind fine; hinges intact. Frontispiece mounted plated: "Go bring the rabble O'er whom I give thee power, here to this place." Adjacent is the ornately detailed title page. An additional color plate is featured in this edition preceding frontispiece page: "Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell : 'Burthen: Ding-dong. Ariel: Hark! now I hear them, - Ding-dong, bell.'" Includes, in all, twenty-one mounted color plates by Arthur Rackham. Each wonderfully subtle and richly colored with captioned page adjacent and vignette verso this. Also, twenty-five black & white headers, tailpieces and vignettes throughout. String-bind good; hinges intact. Intact original cover with very good interior of this rare signed and limited Rackham illustrated edition of fine book craftsmanship. When asked to name five plays by Shakespeare he would like to illustrate, Rackham placed The Tempest at the top, second only to A Midsummer Night's Dream, and is evident in the ethereal and subdued color plates. The Tempest is among Gettings' survey of Rackham's Best Book Illustrations. The Tempest is thought to have been written in 1610-1611, and said to be the last play that Shakespeare composed alone. Set on a remote island, where the sorcerer Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place using illusion and skillful manipulation. Prospero conjures up a storm, the tempest, to cause his usurping brother Antonio and the complicit King Alonso of Naples to believe they are shipwrecked and marooned on the island. There, his machinations bring about the revelation of Antonio's lowly nature, the redemption of the King, and the marriage of Miranda to Alonso's son, Ferdinand. Printed in Great Britain by Richard Clay & Sons, Ltd., Bungay, Suffolk. 185 pages. Insured post. Size: 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall.
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