IDYLLS OF THE KING

Full green morocco with three gilt ruled borders and a blindstamped border to the upper and lower boards, five raised bands with gilt borders to the spine and gilt striped inner dentelles. All edges gilt. Containing seven tissue-guarded printed designs based on Tennyson poems, hand-coloured in watercolour, bodycolour and gilt. Additionally there are three tissue guarded pages in manuscript, two with small hand drawn and painted coats of arms, one in colour and one (of "Alex Thomson") in black and white, and one with a small hand painted 'finis' design. Very good condition, the leather with some scuffs and marks, the extremities rubbed. The tissue guards are lightly spotted and showing faint offsetting from the designs, the designs themselves are bright and sound, the last three with a couple of light spots at the margins, not affecting the designs. A beautiful and unique volume.

A selection of illuminated verse from Alfred Lord Tennyson's cycle of narrative poems 'Idylls of the King', published between 1859 and 1885, which retells stories of Arthurian legend. The original designs are by Sir Richard Rivington Holmes (1835-1911), and have in the present example been hand-coloured by another artist, likely the "Alex Thomas" whose coat of arms is drawn at the beginning. Holmes' father was an assistant in the manuscript department of the British Museum, a role Holmes took on himself upon his father's death in 1854. His familiarity with and understanding of the visual conventions of illuminated manuscripts is plain to see in his attention to detail, use of composition and choice of motifs. One of Holmes' illuminated manuscript designs, also illustrating a Tennyson poem ('Godiva'), was woven into a fine silk 'ribbon' or banner which was shown at the International Exhibition of 1862. In 1868 he was appointed archaeologist to Lord Napier's Abyssinian expedition, during which he acquired material for the British Museum. In 1870 he became the royal librarian at Windsor Castle, where he was responsible for the acquisition and arrangement of books and works of art. He was nominated Sergeant-at-arms to Queen Victoria on 1898, made M.V.O in 1897, C.V.O in 1901 and K.C.V.O in 1905. As well as designing and creating illuminated manuscripts, Holmes designed stained glass windows and bookbindings and made pen drawings and landscape paintings. A selection of Holmes' original illuminations illustrating Tennyson's 'Idylls of the King', were exhibited at Cardiff University Special Collections and Archives Exhibition 'Tennyson's Women', August 2016.