Undine Fouque, De La Motte Fiction

First Rackham edition, number 111 (of 1,000) of the deluxe issue, signed by the illustrator. In Undine, the tale of a water nymph in love with a mortal knight, Rackham creates elegant and acrobatic underwater figures amongst 'greeny blue reedy depths with the sun filtering through.' He achieved the sense of underwater suspension in the drawings by having models pose upon a trapeze set up in his studio (Hamilton, p. 101). 15 tipped in tissue-guarded colour plates, pp. viii, 136. Bound in vellum with gilt vignette depicting Undine stamped to front board as well as gilt stamped titles, gilt decorations and titles to spine, deckled edges, top edge gilt, taupe endpapers. folio. Vellum lightly soiled, half-title and final page toned, some instances of very light foxing but overall plates and pages bright and clean, binding firm, boards a little bowed, silk ties not present.