ERAGNY PRESS. RUST, Margaret from NERVAL. ~ The Queen of the Fishes.
12 woodcut illustrations, 4 in four colours, one in gold and four colours and 7 in grey, 4 green borders and 1 gold, 3 ornaments in red, all designed and engraved on wood by Lucien Pissarro. Printed on Japanese paper. One of 150 copies, this numbered 71 and signed with Lucien Pissarro's monogram in red ink, a further 30 copies ‘not for sale’ were bound in olive green calfskin. 8vo., an extremely good, bright copy in original full vellum with gilt iris decoration on upper cover.
After failing to interest publishers in an illustrated edition of Nerval’s ‘La Reine des poissons’, Lucien decided to print the book himself using a version of Nerval’s text translated in to English by his wife Esther’s friend Margaret Rust who made it more suitable for children. Pissarro exploded onto the private press scene with an astonishing display of four colour and gold printing, and the reproduction of hand written text using process blocks. Charles Ricketts published the book and it was sold by John Lane at the Bodley Head.
Together with the very rare prospectus/order form with black and white engraving, the Press device, on the front. 4pp. folded printed on outside pages only. this is browned at the extremities.
Ex libris of Hartshorne on the front pastedown.