The Essays of Elia – Charles Lamb (Methuen & Co., 1902 – Illustrated by A. Garth Jones)
The Essays of Elia – Charles Lamb (Methuen & Co., 1902 – Illustrated by A. Garth Jones)
This Methuen and Co. illustrated edition (1902) is of interest to collectors of Charles Lamb, Edwardian gift books, and finely decorated Victorian and Edwardian prose editions.
About: A good copy in the original teal cloth with elaborate gilt lettering and Art Nouveau interlaced ornament to boards and spine. Spine cloth worn and fraying at head and foot; corners bumped and showing; boards retain good colour with gilt decoration bright and largely intact; frontispiece portrait of Lamb present; text block clean throughout. A decoratively appealing copy with honest wear commensurate with age.
Details:
- Title: The Essays of Elia
- Author: Charles Lamb
- Illustrator: A. Garth Jones
- Introduction by: E. V. Lucas
- Publisher: Methuen and Co., 36 Essex Street, Strand, London
- Publication Date: 1902
- Binding: Hardcover – teal cloth, elaborate gilt lettering and Art Nouveau ornament to boards and spine
- Frontispiece: Portrait of Charles Lamb
- Condition: Good
Synopsis: Methuen 1902 illustrated edition, original decorated teal cloth with gilt Art Nouveau ornament, frontispiece portrait, introduction by E. V. Lucas, collectible Edwardian gift book edition of a beloved English classic.
Review: Charles Lamb's Essays of Elia (first published 1823) are among the most beloved works of English personal essay writing - warm, whimsical, and richly autobiographical. Written under the pseudonym “Elia,” Lamb's essays range across memory, friendship, London life, and the pleasures of reading, combining gentle humour with genuine pathos. E. V. Lucas's introduction and A. Garth Jones's illustrations make this Methuen edition a particularly handsome presentation of a perennial classic.