Sir Thomas Malory. The Noble & Joyous Boke entytled Le Morte Darthur nothwythstondyng it treateth of the byrth lyf and actes of the sayd Kynge Arthur; of his noble Knyghtes of the Rounde Tale. Theyr merveylous enquestes and adventures.. Printed at the Shakespeare Head Press Saint Aldgates and published for the Press by Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1933.

Price: US$769.60 + shipping

Condition: Good

Description: A good to very good copy of the 2 volume limited edition of Malory's epic work, taken from the only remaining copy of the Wynkyn de Worde printing housed by the John Rylands Library in Manchester. In their original half morocco bindings with gilt titles to spine. Copy no 139 of 350 (370 originally published with 20 not for public sale). Both bindings are clean with very light marking to the cloth. In Vol I there is light rubbing to spine ends and corners, most pronounced at the top front corner. Vol II has some fraying at the top of the spine and a little leather loss at the joint with the top of the front board. There is more pronounced rubbing at the top corners. Both have rubbing to front edges. Top page edges gilt, remainder untrimmed. The endpapers are strongly marbled and there is a little splitting to the front endpaper of Vol II where the damage can be seen to the top of the spine. Contents: Vol I: 4 initial blanks; half title; title with limited edition note to verso; prologus pp i-iv; table pp v- xxviii; Fyrste Boke to IX Boke pp 1-316 with a woodcut for each Boke; 3 final blanks. Vol II: 4 initial blanks; half title; title with note to verso; Boke X - Boke XXI pp 1-373 with woodcuts for each Boke plus an extra one in Boke XXI; notes 3pp; 3 final blanks. Tissue guards have been inserted between a number of text pages in Vol II from p 248 onwards. The contents are in near fine clean condition. There is the odd spot at the page edge but little sign that the volumes have been read.

Seller: ecbooks, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom

Malory, Sir Thomas. NOBLE & JOYOUS BOKE ENTYTLED LA MORTE DARTHUR BY SYR THOMAS MALORY X-XXI The Second Volume. Shakespeare Head Press, 1933.

Price: US$865.00 + shipping

Condition: Near Fine

Description: Limited 370 copies. This is a single, unnumbered copy. Full orange leather. Woodcut illus. 3pp notes, 3 blank endpapers. Tissue guard overlays between pages last half of book. Marbled endpapers, untrimmed pages. Top-edge gilt.

Seller: Books on the Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, CA, U.S.A.

Malory, Syr Thomas. The Noble & Joyous Boke Entytled le Morte Darthur.. Shakespeare Head Press and published by the Press for Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1933.

Price: US$1725.00 + shipping

Condition: Fine

Description: 4to. Two volumes. (4),xxviii,316;(4)273,(3)pp. One of 370 copies on handmade paper (of which 350 are for sale), this being copy number 171. Half brick-red morocco, cream-colored cloth sides. Printed in red and black throughout in Caslon type, with 22 woodcuts reproduced from Wynkyn de Worde's folio edition of 1498. The text is a careful reprint from de Worde's folio of 1498 from the unique copy in the Rylands Library, never before reprinted, and bridges the gap between Caxton's edition of 1485 (reproduced by Sommer and later printed in facsimile by Scolar), and Wynkyn de Worde's edition of 1529, on which most modern editions are based. Sommer remarks that the woodcuts reproduced from the DeWorde 1498 edition represent the first attempt ever made of illustrating a text throughout with engravings. As for the text, the few pages lacking in the Rylands copy have been supplied, and indicated by square brackets, from the Caxton edition. The woodcut illustratiosn in this copy have been hand-colored. We find no indication that the publisher offered a hand-colored edition, and so believe that a former owner commissioned them. They are delightful, colorful, and in keeping with the 15th century style. Gaines, A21.

Seller: Thorn Books, ABAA, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.