The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde.

“I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying": The Works of Oscar Wilde; One of 80 Sets Bound in Japanese Vellum

The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde.

WILDE, Oscar.

Item Number: 103150

London: Methuen & Co, 1908.

First collected edition, one of 80 sets on Japanese vellum, the rarest and most desirable of Wilde’s works. Octavo, 14 volumes, bound in original vellum, gilt titles and tooling to the spine and front panel with the design by Charles Ricketts, top edge gilt. “The text is taken in most instances from the last editions issued under the superintendence of the author. In some cases the volumes contain additional matter which had not previously been reprinted, while some of the volumes contain matter here published for the first time” (Mason). In near fine condition. Rare and desirable, especially in this condition.

“The first collected edition of Wilde’s works was issued in 1908 with 14 volumes, 13 with the imprint of Methuen & Co., and one, The Picture of Dorian Gray, with the imprint of Charles Carrington, Paris. The text is taken in most instances from the last editions issued under the superintendence of the author. In some cases the volumes contain additional material which had not previously been reprinted, while some of the volumes contain matter here published for the first time… Some of the volumes contain matter which is not included in any other edition” (Mason, 459). This set collects such classics as Lady Windermere’s Fan, The Happy Prince, Salome, and The Importance of Being Earnest, as well as numerous essays and poems. This edition was edited by Robert Ross, Wilde’s long-time intimate friend and literary executor.

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