Folio Archives 160: The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser 2011

The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser - Limited Edition 2011

Written in 1590 to glorify the virgin and Protestant Queen, Elizabeth 1, Spenser’s allegorical blank verse poem links Tudor England with the mythical age of King Arthur in a romantic and chivalric epic. It covers every aspect of fantasy and morals, with vicious dragons and enchanters on one side, virtuous maidens and benevolent hermits on the other. It is also political and biographical, with Queen Elizabeth appearing in the story in many guises including a warrior maiden and a virtuous paragon.

This facsimile is of the Arts and Crafts 1894-97 editions was illustrated by a colleague of William Morris, Walter Crane, who created 88 large and 135 smaller illustrations for the original six volume book. There is no introduction or commentary, just the facsimile.

The gorgeous facsimiles are bound in 3 volumes : Books I & II 528 pages, books III & IV 516 pages, books V & VI 507 pages. It is printed on thick watermarked laid paper with gilt top page edges and white ribbon markers. Each volume is bound in stunning white Nigerian goat skin blocked with a gilt design on cover and spine that is seductively sensuous to the touch. The volumes are housed on a sliding tray in a maroon toile vendome silk covered wooden case (31.8x23.6x20.6cm.), that is lined with maroon cloth. All three volumes are identically bound and gilt embossed except for the book number on the spine.

The endpapers are plain mauve, the limitation was 1000 copies, and the original published price was £585.

















































































An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.

>1 wcarter: All three volumes are identically bound and gilt embossed except for the book number on the spine.

Not quite! Take a closer look at the spines. Most obviously, the stem curves the opposite way on the second volume, but even comparing volumes 1 and 3 reveals that they are (while very similar) unique creations. I discovered this after having my set for quite a while and it made me even more fond of the books!

The covers are identical I believe.

A gorgeous set.

I find it amusing that Crane by turns "pictured" the poem, later "displayed ... in a series of designs" for it, and finally provided "illustrations". Poor Thomas Wise could only "edit".

>2 kronnevik:
You are right!
Very observant of you.
I also had not noticed the very subtle variations in the spine designs, and I agree, it makes me more fond of them too.

Just beautiful.

Ah, my favorite Folio Limited Edition - and I have 65 to choose from!

Thanks, it's really nice to see this one, particularly because it's doubtful I'll see it in person. Holy cats, that is a lovely production!

.
It was the first LE I bought and it's still my favourite.

Yes, a beautifully produced set. I just couldn't bring myself to buy it however because of the open hostility to my faith and country.

>8 folio_books:

Same here.

It's simply gorgeous, everything a limited edition should be.

>8 folio_books:, >10 SF-72:

I quite agree, this is a wonderful thing. Anyone who gets the opportunity, should have one. It is beautiful.

:-)

Edited for clumsy phrasing.

Definitely one of the best.

Whats a reasonable price for a Faerie Queene today?

>13 Seeking_North:

... if you can find one. I just searched eBay and Abe; none to be had.

One of the greatest bindings ever. And if you got the earlier version of the slipcase with Toile Vendome, you get flashes of magical Faerie green. Only downside is that the text is hard to get into. Definitely something I wished I had read when young and less cynical, but then when I was young there was no way I could afford it.

Well.. that was the problem ;)

Im not sure what price to put on it..

>16 Seeking_North:

For a long while, it was selling for at little as half the retail price, so around $500 at the low end. Now that it's finally out of print, who knows. I would assume copies with the cheaper Tsarina Crush slipcase would cost less. As good as this edition is, I would avoid overpaying. 1000 copies is not a small limitation and it took many, many years to sell out so it will show up sooner or later.

>17 MobyRichard:

I was not aware of two different slip cases. My slip cases changes in color between a pinky maroon and green as you turn it, is that the Toile Vendome? What does the Tsarina crush look like?

>18 Jobasha: don’t know if this helps, but Tsarina Crush was also used on the LE 1001 Nights Dali book cover. You can see some photos at this listing for comparison: https://www.firstandfine.com/product/dali-salvador-2016-tales-from-the-1001-nigh...

>18 Jobasha:

I've owned both types (and sold both sadly). The Toile Vendome changes color. The Tsarina Crush is still nice but looks kinda dull in comparison with little to no light reflection. Presumably they changed the material so they could discount the books, as they weren't selling very well at full price.

I've got the Tsarina Crush version - I remember being slightly disappointed/surprised when I received my copy because they didn't update the photos on the website to show that the case looks different. The books themselves are of course, just glorious. Once I get some daylight I'll take a few pictures and post for comparison. The interior is grey instead of maroon.

>21 kristinemoore:

Yes, I've owned both at some point (and sold both cause I overspent on other books and I just couldn't make myself actually read Spenser). Took me a while to figure out why my second slipcase wasn't gloooowwiiing with faerie green.