The Rime of the Ancient Mariner [The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner]; Complete Original Text

Chicago: M.A. Donohue & Company, n.d.. Hardcover. Near fine. Doré, Gustave. Duodecimo size, 74 pp. Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) is considered one of the founders of the Romantic Movement, and is perhaps best remembered today for this poem and for Kubla Khan. Originally entitied "The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere", the poem was first published in 1798 to mixed reviews.

This haunting poem has been published and illustrated many times; this publication by French artist Gustave Doré (1832-1883), who provided illustrations for numerous well-known titles in addition to this one, such as "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and (truncated) "Paradise Lost" by John Milton.

This publication with an art nouveau cover design without the artist's monogram; per noted binding collector John A. Lehner, the binding design is after Alberta Hall, who worked for Rand McNally, another Chicago publishing house.

While not dated, given the binding design it is likely from the late 1890s or early 1900s. Per the author of "Gustave Dore - Adrift on dreams of splendor" (Dan Malan), "...in 1883, the U.S. pirate publishers got cranked up. Eight U.S. publishers issued editions [of Doré] in all shapes and sizes in the next decade...by the turn of the century, the flow of editions had pretty well died out. From 1876-1902, there were about 30 editions..." (pp. 133 and 135).

___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full blue cloth over boards, binding design in grey and black, decorations after Dore's illustrations at the top of the front board, gilt lettering on the front board and spine, top edge gilt, patterned endpapers, each page of the "Rime" printed on the rectos only, for both text and illustrations, the text pages with a ruled section at the fore-edge margin containing small decorations and a short version of the stanzas, at the end of the volume is a section containing "Favourite Poems" by various authors; duodecimo size (7 5/8" by 5 3/8"), pagination: [i, title page] [2, illustrations] [4, first page of text] 5-40 (note that this section ignores the illustrations in the pagination), the pagination then skips to p. 49 which begins the "Favorite Poems" section, these still printed on rectos only, through p. 84; we can only assume the break in the pagination is due to this being a pirated copy with sheets taken from other editions.

___CONDITION: Near fine, the boards mostly clean, straight corners with minimal rubbing, the gilt on the top edge bright, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and other than a private library label (see "Provenance" below) entirely free of prior owner markings; light bumping to the head and tail of the spine, one spot of soil on the front board to the left of the decorations, and a very thin line of what appears to be old dampstain (no wrinkling) in the bottom margin and lower part of the fore-edge margin of the first dozen or so leaves, with commensurate old stain on the bottom edge of the text block.

___PROVENANCE: From the library of John Alfred Henshall and May Eliza Dexter Henshall (1867-1962), with their personal library label on the front pastedown. May Henshall was a woman ahead of her time: starting out as a schoolteacher, she became superintendent of schools in Yolo County in 1906, through 1914. She then moved to the California State Library and taught in the library school at Cal, retiring in 1937.

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details.

___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help. (Inventory #: 23032601)