Paper binding for ‘Legends and Lyrics’

Gleeson White

1892

Pen and ink

6½ x 4 inches

A preparatory design in pen, ink and pencil. The swirling, dynamic forms of nature mediate between the styles of Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau; pantheistic in effect, the composition projects the poems’ rural imagery. This is a sophisticated composition, balancing the arabesque against the careful placement of the flowers, which are arranged in groups. Drawn here in pen and ink, the lines are converted into gilt in the published cover. .

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Photograph and text by Simon Cookeand reproduced with permission of the Houghton Library, Harvard University

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link to this URL in a web document or cite it in a print one.]