About this Item
Gr.-8° (23 x 15.5 x 2 cm). 3 Bll., 135 SS. Typographisch sorgfältiger, bibliophiler Schriftsatz in 6-Punkt Antiqua, Druck a. Bütten (Wasserzeichen). OHperg. mit vergold. Rückentitel u. OU, Kopfgoldschnitt / bound in blue boards, with parchment back, lettered in gold on spine, orig. and private transparent dust jacket, top edge gilt, other edges uncut. Signierte und nummerierte Vorzugsausgabe der eine Woche früher erschienenen Ersten Ausgabe (i.e. normalen Buchhandelsausgabe). Fl.Bll. in den Stegen etwas stockfleckig / free endpapers somewhat foxing along the margins, pages otherwise remarkably clean. Minimal traces of age and use. Over all good copy, signed by the author / Leichte Alters-, wenig Gebrauchsspuren. Gesamthaft gutes Exemplar. - - 'This edition, printed on English handmade paper, is limited to two hundred and seventy-five copies, of which two hundred and fifty are for sale and twenty-five are for presentation' - Simmons 68a (published July 7, 1927; de luxe version of the first booksellers [common] edition in 3000 copies from June 30, 1927; Simmons 68). - Cf. Howey/Reimer A-1590 - "First performed by the Lena Ashwell Players at the Century Theatre, Archer Street, Bayswater, at 8.15 p.m., on Monday, 21st February 1927, with the following cast" (etc., with list of the characters and names of their actors) -- "Tristan and Iseult fall in love by accidentally drinking the love potion; at one point Tristan carries Iseult away to live in the woods because of the traps that Mark has set for them. Iseult, however, returns to Mark, and when Tristan, mad, appears again, she has him beaten and banished from the castle. Tristan dies nearby, waiting for Iseult [.]. There are also comic interludes in the play, often provided by Kay and Bedivere (here Mark's steward and bailey); one concerns Tristan's disguise as a swineherd, so they are involved in a rather comic version of the boar hunt. Arthur, a visitor to Mark's court, is also an important character." (A. F. Howey/St. R. Reimer, A Bibliography of Modern Arthuriana. Cambridge 2006, p. 258, nr. A-1590) - "Masefield's version [.] attempts to give new life to the legend by combining elements from various sources. [He] tries to get close to the historical origins of his subject at the same time that he acknowledges the medieval tradition. Perhaps the most obvious difference between Masefield's play and almost all the other retellings of the Tristan story is that he devotes a major portion of his work to re-creating an event described in one of the Welsh 'Triads', which tells about 'Three Powerful Swineherds of the Island of Britain'. [.] But the most interesting twist that Masefield gives to the plot is in the working out of the foreordained tragedy. It is not a vengeful Marc who slays Tristan. Marc is himself killed by 'the heathen' at the Battle of Badon Hill. During his absence, Tristan, maddened by his separation from Isolt, returns to court seeking her. [.] Masefield's main contribution to the legend is to make it truly the tragedy of Isolt. By omitting Isolt of Brittany from his version, he removes any possibility of jealousy or other base motive for her actions. Tristan is unswervingly devoted to her, and it is only her recognition of Marc's basic nobility and of her obligation to him that makes her reject Tristan [.]. Thus Masefield's Isolt is a tragic figure who is caught between her love and her sense of duty." (etc.; A. Lupack, in: S.K. Slocum, ed., Popular Arthurian Traditions, 1992, p. 169). -- John Masefield (Ledbury, Herefordshire 1878-1967 near Abingdon, Berkshire), British poet, "best known for his poems of the sea [.], and for his long narrative poems, such as The Everlasting Mercy (1911), which shocked literary orthodoxy with its phrases of a colloquial coarseness hitherto unknown in 20th-century English verse. [.] After he succeeded Robert Bridges as poet laureate in 1930, his poetry became more austere." (etc.; Britannica). - Resp.: Englischer Dichter, Romancie. Seller Inventory # Lt041510
Contact seller
Report this item
