The Lysistrata of Aristophanes with illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley

2" x 1 1/2", 90 pages, 8 illustrations

The original edition of THE LYSISTRATA OF ARISTOPHANES was published by Leonard Smithers in 1896 in an edition of 100 copies, translated by Samuel Smith and with eight full-page illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley. Beardsley (1872 – 1898) was an English illustrator and author whose drawings, executed in black ink and influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James Whistler. Beardsley's contribution to the development of the Art Nouveau style and the poster movement was significant, despite the brevity of his career before his early death from tuberculosis.

The book is now extremely rare, and one collector has allowed me to develop this near-facsimile from photographs of his copy. Several Beardsley experts have been consulted to make this miniature edition as close to the spirit of the original as possible and still be readable at this small size.

The book is bound in cobalt blue paper in the binding style of the original, whose front and back boards overlap the extended spine to form a smooth, rounded volume. There is a paper title pasted to the front.

This  book is also available in a deluxe edition: THE LYSISTRATA OF ARISTOPHANES

This product was added to our catalog  June  26, 2010