Elskamp, Max. — The Alphabet of Our Lady of the Virgin. Antw - Lot 214

Elskamp, Max. — The Alphabet of Our Lady of the Virgin. Antwerp, J.E. Buschmann for Édition du Conservatoire de La Tradition Populaire, 1901. Quarto, paperback, consisting of 58 printed folios and 2 blank folios, with an illustrated front cover and a modern slipcase bearing the title on the spine and front cover—The covers have been reattached; the front cover is torn and stained. Each plate (printed on one side only) was engraved without movable type and thus resembles early incunabula; Each of the 26 letters is accompanied by a short text or a verse on the left-hand page, and by an engraved illustration on the right-hand page, the whole is set within a border of interlacing patterns and hearts, and accented by a repeating floral motif printed in two colors (pink and blue) A print run of 215 copies was announced, including 5 on Japanese paper, 10 on Chinese paper, 100 on Dutch paper, and 100 on vellum. Our copy is printed on laid paper (not vellum). A facsimile of a letter sent by the artist to a collector (May 23, 1914) summarizes the technical process behind this “bookish curiosity.”