J M W Turner (1902, signed limited edition)
This copy signed to artist and collector Charles Fairfax Murray, signed to him from the publisher and one of 350 copies on Japanese paper
Author
Publisher
Printing Details
First edition, one of 350 copies on Japanese paper, this copy unnumbered but marked "T. Presentation copy" by the publishers. Hardback, bound in the original burgundy cloth with gilt titling to spine and upper board. Bevelled edges, page edges untrimmed. 41.5 × 29cm, ix + 292pp.
This copy belonged to the artist and art dealer Charles Fairfax Murray, with his library label to the front pastedown, and inscribed to him by the publishers to the copyright page "Presentation copy—C Fairfax Murray Esq, Thomas Agnew & Sons". Charles Fairfax Murray (1849–1919) was a celebrated Pre-Raphaelite artist, connoisseur, and one of the most formidable bibliophiles of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. Originally discovered by John Ruskin, Murray worked closely as a studio assistant to Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Edward Burne-Jones before establishing himself as a premier art dealer and expert in Italian Renaissance masters. He amassed an extraordinary private library, documented in his monumental catalogues of early French and German illustrated books.
A monumental monograph on J M W Turner by Sir Walter Armstrong, the Director of the National Gallery of Ireland. The book is illustrated with 103 engraving which include portraits of Turner, a facsimile copy of a letter written by Turner from the collection of C Fairfax Murray, and two tipped-in colour plates: Lausanne from Le Signal and Monte Rosa from opposite Aosta. The plates are either engravings with plates marks, or photogravure, and where full-page they have a titled tissue guard.
The text covers Turner's biography and a critical development of his life as an artist, followed by an important catalogue containing both a list of his watercolours and oil paintings which includes a brief description, dimensions, how it has been signed, and where it (then) resides.
Condition
A good copy but with some condition issues. The cloth binding is sunned, with several abrasions and a puncture and tear (about 2.5cm) to the cloth of the spine just under the author's name. The untrimmed page edges are tanned, as are some of the tissue guards and page but the book remains in solid readable condition, the inner binding is secure with just a little movement. All plates are present. There is a slightly musty odour from the book but this is receding.
The book weighs nearly 6kg.
Further images available on request.
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Price
£250.00
