Beschreibung:

BLACK SUN PRESS -- POE, Edgar Allan (1809-1849) and 'ALASTAIR' [i.e. Hans Hennig VON VOIGHT] (1887-1969, artist). The Fall of the House of Usher . Introduction by Arthur Symons. Paris: Roger Lescaret for Éditions Narcisse, 1928. 8° (260 x 185mm). Title and text printed in red and black. 5 mounted plates by Jacomet after 'Alastair' tipped onto silvered paper leaves. (Occasional light spotting.) Original printed wrappers, glassine dustwrapper (lightly spotted, splits and skilful repairs on spine). Provenance : Nina, Marquise de Polignac (1881-1966, presentation inscription on the front free endpaper 'Nina with love from Harry Paris 1928'). FIRST EDITION ILLUSTRATED BY 'ALASTAIR', LIMITED TO 308 COPIES, THIS NO. II OF 7 HORS COMMERCE ON PAPIER MONTVAL . INSCRIBED BY HARRY CROSBY TO HIS COUSIN NINA. Minkoff A7; Published in Paris p.408. PATER, Walter (1839-1894) and 'ALASTAIR' [i.e. H.H. VON VOIGHT] (artist). Sebastian van Storck . Introduction by P.G. Konody. London and New York: R. Clay & Sons, Ltd. for John Lane/The Bodley Head Ltd. and Dodd, Mead and Company, 1927. 4° (315 x 255mm). Title printed in brown and black. Colour-printed additional title and 7 plates after 'Alastair', one signed by the artist. Original cloth, upper board and spine lettered in gilt, upper board with design after 'Alastair', top edge gilt, slipcase (a few light marks, corners lightly rubbed, slipcase a little worn and split on joints). Provenance : Brentano's, Paris (bookseller's ticket on lower pastedown)--'Ted and Frederika' [?Edward 'Ted' and Frederika Weeks] (presentation inscription on front free endpaper from Harry and Caresse Crosby, dated 1927). FIRST EDITION ILLUSTRATED BY 'ALASTAIR', NO.510 OF 1,050 COPIES WITH A PLATE SIGNED BY THE ARTIST. WITH A LENGTHY INSCRIPTION FROM HARRY CROSBY referring to the proposed Black Sun Press edition of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher . The inscription reads: 'for Ted & Frederika with a sunny-golden Christmas & New Year from Harry & Caresse Paris 1927[.] (hope Symons will do better than Konody (!) + our Alastairs for the Poe better than these (the skating scene excepted))'. It seems probable that the volume was inscribed to Ted and Frederika Weeks; Weeks was an old friend of Harry Crosby's who distributed the Black Sun Press books in America, and with whom 'Harry first discussed plans to publish a deluxe edition of The Fall of the House of Usher ' ( Published in Paris p.175). Weeks suggested an introduction by Arthur Symons (cf. G. Wolff Black Sun , p.178), and by late 1927 Symons had agreed to provide an introduction, making it seem most likely that Harry Crosby would have then given this volume to the Ted and Frederika Weeks, in anticipation of the forthcoming edition of The Fall of the House of Usher . (2)