1823 The Fables of Aesop, and Others

Description

Early Edition, Illustrated, Leather Binding, Limited Edition, Rebound, With Slipcase

The second edition of Bewick's fables, in a handsome half vellum binding by Eric Sweet.

Facsimile receipt leaf to the front, with the facsimile thumbprint of Bewick. This is copy number 684 with this receipt, part of a limited edition.

Illustrated with a vignette title, and a woodcut head-piece to each fable, alongside tail-pieces, by Thomas Bewick.

Collated, complete.

Bewick's woodcuts of 'Fables' is one of his best known works, and spent almost his entire creative career producing various editions of illustrated Aesop, the first of which was published in 1776.

Aesop's Fables are a collection of brief moral tales attributed to a storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece around the 6th century BCE. These tales typically feature animals as characters who embody human traits and behaviours, teaching practical life lessons through their interactions.

Classic fables like "The Tortoise and the Hare," "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," and "The Ant and the Grasshopper" use simple narratives to convey enduring wisdom about virtues such as perseverance, honesty, and hard work. 

Pages have been washed, presenting an uncommonly bright copy of this sought after work.

In a half vellum binding by Eric Sweet, with decorative ink illustration to boards, and handwritten title to back strip. Housed in a cloth clamshell case.

Eric Sweet was a keen collector of private press and fables. He studied at the Brighton College of Art, before moving to London to work as a lettering artist and typographer for advertising agencies, later becoming the head of Birmingham School of Printing. Sweet's bindings are unique and striking, reflecting the topics of the volumes in distinctive style.