OSCAR WILDE (1850-1900) BALLADE DE LA GEÔLE DE READING [THE BALLAD OF READING GAOL] LIMITED EDITION. 1942. 1 VOLUME. IN FRENCH. CARLO PELLEGRINI (1839-1889) ‘OSCAR’, 1884 1 COLOUR CHROMOLITHOGRAPH.

i) The Ballad of Reading Gaol Paris, Librairie Marceau, 1942. Foreword by Pierre Mac Orlan, translated from the English by Henry-D. Davray. 8vo, paperback, 72 pp., pages 41 to end uncut, three-flap cover, red initial letters, frontispiece, illustrations in and outside the text by André Dignimont (watercolours reproduced by phototype by Duval and coloured by Reynal). Printed in a run of 1,200 copies on Arches vellum. Copy no. 261, one of 1,000 copies on Arches vellum, numbered from 201 to 1,200. Edition completed in Paris on 15 February 1942. 25.5 x 19.5 x 0.5 cm Good condition. Tear to the top edge. ii) ‘Oscar’, a caricature by Ape (Carlo Pellegrini) A colour chromolithograph of Oscar Wilde, published in ″Vanity Fair″ on 24 May 1884. ‘Men of the Day. No. 305.’ signed ‘Ape’ on the plate, bottom right, titled ‘Oscar’ (in the centre of the bottom margin), ‘Vanity Fair’ (to the left of the top margin), ‘24 May 1884’ (to the right of the top margin), 'Vincent Brooks, Days & Son, Lith.' (bottom left in the margin) Dimensions image 35.5 x 21.5 cm (viewing area) mounted with a mat 50 x 36.5 cm Good condition. Plastic protection not removed, adhesive tape present on the reverse of the backing. The Ballad of Reading Gaol A long poem written by Oscar Wilde during his exile in France, after his release from Reading Gaol in May 1897. The completed poem was published by Leonard Smithers on 13 February 1898 under the pseudonym ‘C.3.3’, which stood for ‘Cell Block C, Tier 3, Cell 3’. This ensured that Wilde’s name – by then infamous – did not appear on the cover of the poem. It was not until the 7th edition, in June 1899, that it became known that C.3.3 was in fact Wilde. The Ballad of Reading Gaol is the last work by Wilde to be published during his lifetime. Oscar Wilde (Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde) English writer, novelist, playwright and poet. André Dignimont French painter, illustrator, caricaturist, theatre set designer, engraver and lithographer; a prominent figure in Montmartre. Carlo Pellegrini (1839-1889) A British artist of Italian origin, he produced most of his works under the pseudonym ‘Ape’. He worked as a caricaturist for the magazine ‘Vanity Fair’, a leading publication of London society. His work for this magazine brought him great renown and he became its most influential artist. Vincent Brooks, Day & Son A leading British lithographic firm, best known for reproducing the weekly caricatures published in *Vanity Fair* magazine. The company, founded in 1867 by Vincent Brooks, reproduced works of art and illustrations, and went on to print many of the iconic London Underground posters of the 1920s and 1930s before ceasing operations in 1940.