BUCKLAND WRIGHT, John. MALLARMÉ, Stéphane. ~ L'Apres Midi d'un Faune. Translation by Aldous Huxley.
Collotype reproductions of 9 drawings by Buckland Wright, four full page Text printed in sanguine. One of 100 special copies with an set of the 4 full page plates, this time as copper engravings in a separate cloth envelope. Original full grey/green morocco with an image by Buckland Wright in gilt on the upper cover, in the original maroon cloth slipcase with the maroon buckram folder for the engravings. An extremely good copy of a scarce item.
L’Après Midi d’un Faune was begun in 1936 for JBW’s own imprint JBW Editions when the letterpress was printed by Mouton & Co. at the Hague. Buckland Wright found it difficult to decide on the best technique for the illustrations and, under pressure from other work, the project was temporarily abandoned although he did keep making drawings and plates for the book. Eventually he decided on collotype reproductions of his drawings for his own edition.
L’Apres-midi was, as Mary Buckland Wright points out in the two page introduction to the French JBW edition of this book “never long out of John’s thoughts and it was always close to his heart”...”John was always fascinated by the Pan or Faun theme; possibly because he himself had very pointed ears!” She also notes that JBW chose Bodoni type because “it was essential for the eye to pass easily and without shock from Roman to italic - most typefaces fall down in this respect”.
This Golden Cockerel Press edition was the English translation by Huxley of JBW’s French edition produced in the same year as the posthumous publication.