c1910 : POEMS OF SPENSER Caxton JESSIE M. KING (8 Plates) Art Nouveau Covers VGC

POEMS OF SPENSER

Selected and with an Introduction by W.B. Yeats

Illustrated by Jessie M. King

London: Caxton, undated, circa 1910. Hardback, blue cloth with gilt lettering, top edge gilt. One of 'The Golden Poets' series, edited by Oliphant Smeaton. B&w frontispiece and decorated title page, 8 plates (b&w with touches of pink and gold) by Jessie M. King (collated).

SECTION HEADINGS
Introduction; Happy and Unhappy Love; Courtiers and Great Men; Emblems and Qualities; Gardens of Delight; Fauns and Satyres and Shepherds; Notes; Glossary; Index of First Lines.

CONDITION
Very good.Cloth binding is good. All contents present and pages clean throughout. All illustrations present and in lovely condition. Overall very good.
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Edmund Spenser (1552/1553 – 13 January 1599) was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of nascent Modern English verse and is often considered one of the greatest poets in the English language.
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Jessie Marion King (20 March 1875 – 3 August 1949) was a Scottish illustrator known for her illustrated children's books. She also designed bookplates, jewellery and fabric, and painted pottery. King was one of the artists known as the Glasgow Girls.

King was made Tutor in Book Decoration and Design at Glasgow School of Art in 1899. She continued to teach until her marriage to E. A. Taylor in 1908, and she chose, against the grain, to keep her maiden name.

King was influenced by the Art Nouveau of the period, and her works correspond in mood with those of The Glasgow Four. Despite the influence of Art Nouveau, she was inspired to create unique designs where she did not literally translate the real world. "I would not copy designs," she said, "but insisted on drawing out of my head." During her early period, she created detailed pen and ink illustrations on vellum.