The Noble & Joyous Boke Entytled Le Morte Darthur
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Ashendene Press. The Noble & Joyous Boke Entytled Le Morte Darthur . . . .Woodcuts by W[illiam] H[arcourt] Hooper and J. B. Swain from drawings by Charles M. Gere and Margaret Gere. Chelsea: Ashendene Press, 1913. Only 155 copies of this book were printed (145 on paper, 8 on vellum, and 2 on Japanese paper).
The Noble and Joyous Book Entytled Le Morte Darthur published by the Ashendene Press is one of the masterpieces of fine printing. Chapter headings are printed in red, and initial letters alternate between red and blue. The text, based on the 1817 Robert Southey edition of Malory, is complemented by beautiful woodcuts from drawings by Charles M. Gere and Margaret Gere. The illustrations include some of the iconic Arthurian scenes, such as: Arthur pulling the sword from the stone, Merlin entombed, the Giant of St. Michael's Mount, Tristram and Isode drinking the love potion, the achieving of the Grail, Elaine in the barge, Lancelot's fight at the door of Guinevere's chamber, and Arthur in the barge being taken to Avalon.