With 7 Merle Johnson Watercolors of Piratical Scenes
Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates. Compiled by Merle Johnson.
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1921.
First edition, no. 21 of 50 copies only on Japan vellum stock, signed by Merle Johnson on the limitation page. Illustrated with 36 full-page plates (of which 12 are in color) on glossy paper, and numerous illustrations in black and white throughout the text, this copy EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED on the endsheets with 7 watercolor drawings (5 full-page) by Merle Johnson, signed (“Merle Johnson” or "M.J.") xvii, [1], 247 pp. 4to. With 7 Merle Johnson Watercolors of Piratical Scenes. Publisher's cloth spine and boards, color plate affixed to front cover. Spine soiled, small crease to frontispiece plate. In a custom cloth slipcase with red morocco label Item #300214
The deluxe edition on Japan vellum of this collection of pirate tales and illustrations by Howard Pyle, compiled by Merle Johnson. This copy marvelously extra-illustrated by Merle Johnson with 7 full- and double-page watercolor illustrations of pirates. These are not the grim, hardened pirates of Pyle's illustrations — Johnson's pirates are drawn in a humorous, cartoon style that blends the historical and the modern. In one double-page spread a flapper in evening dress guides a pirate towards the end of a plank by the barrel of a gun. Another double-page spread at the rear of the book shows a pirate burying his chest of treasure as a film crew shoots in the background.
Price: $7,500.00 Free International Delivery
