Cloth binding

Aubrey Beardsley.

1895

A smooth yellow cloth binding with blocking in black ink made by brass dies.

8 x 6¼ inches

Another of Beardsley’s provocative designs, synthesizing classicism with expressive distortion, bare linearity with decorative detail. In effect, he creates a sort of alternative reality which is referenced in the material world, but partakes of visual elision and often seems dream-like.

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Photograph and text by Simon Cooke

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