Lyrics Pathetic & Humorous from A to Z
London / New York: Frederick Warne & Co., 1908. 27.5x21.5cm: 2pp.] plus [24] leaves of color plates, printed rectos only on heavy glossy paper. First Edition. Publisher’s dark gray-green paper-covered boards with beveled edges, quarter-bound in beige cloth. Front cover printed in gilt, white, green, and orange. Pictorial endpapers. Clipped photo of Dulac neatly mounted to verso of front free endpaper. Light wear to board edges, with scattered abrasions to paper, impacting the ‘o’ in ‘humorous’ and the author’s name. Small hidden tear to paper along bottom front edge. Spine a tad soiled. Offsetting to endpapers. Light wear to textblock edges. Internally clean and binding tight, an uncommon feature due to inferior glue, resulting in many copies described as having detached plates. Better than Very Good.
Lyrics Pathetic & Humorous from A to Z is an illustrated alphabet book featuring humorous, whimsical limericks and short verses—one for each letter—brought to life with Edmund Dulac’s richly colored, imaginative artwork.
This copy accompanied with two dated ALS from Dulac to Edward Cahen. The first ALS (February 12, 1918) is in reference to pigment used for illustrations. Dulac writes, “I wonder if the enclosed is sufficient to experiment with, and whether the gold can be recovered in fine powder! I have lately accumulated a good number of old books of recipes, some of them very useful. Only I lack the chemical knowledge and the materials to carry out most of them. I wonder if you would care to try the enclosed one, on the understanding, of course, that I should defray all expenses in connection with it. It would be most serviceable, as real gold just now is so expensive and, bronze powder, so coarse.” The second ALS sent a few weeks later (March 2, 1918) captures a bit of Dulac’s worries as he reaffirms to Cahen that he will cover associated expenses. Dulac writes, “Excuse hasty note. I have been very busy [and] worried lately. Thence apparent negligence. Forgive me. No. I don’t mind an initial expense. I said before, that I would not expect you to be out of pocket, in addition to loss of time on my account. A thousand thanks for your kindness. Why is the gold brown?” Both letters written on Dewlands / Cranleigh / Surrey stationary, his place of residence during the early part of 1918 before moving back to London. Both letters neatly tucked into a dated Dulac-to-Cahen autograph envelope, which is tipped-in to recto of rear free endpaper.
Edward Cahen (1880-1961) studied Chemistry at the Royal College of Science in London, having made significant contributions to chemical literature including co-authorship of “The Mineralogy of the Rarer Metals.” Cahen was also a noted photographer, with several of his portrait photographs currently housed at the National Portrait Gallery in London. The exchange between Dulac and Cahen makes sense given Cahen’s extensive knowledge of chemistry, although how they came to know each other is uncertain.
Hughey 18.
Price: $1,750.00
Item #10607