Thursday, November 17, 2011

Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult

Maurice Lalau (1881-1961) is a name I had never seen before this week. He was a prolific French illustrator, perhaps better known in his own country than he is in the United States. I could find very little about him, either online or in print sources.

I did find a capsule review of the The Romance of Tristram and Iseult, published October 8th, 1910, in the New York Times, under the heading, Philadelphia Book News, with the following text:

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 7. -- Next Monday has been fixed for the issue by the J. B. Lippincott Co. of a sumptuous edition of "The Romance of Tristram and Iseult," translated from the French of Joseph Bedier by Florence Simmonds. This promises to be one of the most beautiful of the gift books of the season, the distinguishing characteristic of this edition being the thirty-two remarkable colored illustrations by Maurice Lalau.

The scary part is that the review states there are 32 illustrations, and the edition found at archive dot org, only has 20 remarkable color illustrations. If there are an additional 12, I dearly want to see them.

Click the link to view these amazing illustrations in their original context at archive dot org. The Romance of Tristram and Iseult was published by William Heinemann out of London, and by J. B. Lippincott out of Philadelphia, in 1910. William Heinemann is the same publisher who published much of Arthur Rackham's best known work.

It is a wonder more attention has not been paid to this illustrator. When I view the larger body of Lalau's available art and illustrations, I see parallels to the line work and drama of Arthur Rackham, including his droll sense of humor; and the composition and colors of Edmund Dulac. I strongly suspect and propose Maurice Lalau's influence, or perhaps he was influenced by them; and if I were ever to earn an advanced degree in art history, I would explore this potential connection.

If anyone has knowledge of Maurice Lalau, please share your information in comments, and add any links. Here are a few bits of information I've come across, here, here, and here, and here.

What I love about these illustrations is the rich color, and fully realized world, the room interiors and building exteriors executed in loving detail, including trunks and tapestries, musical instruments, books, looms, clothing, games, utensils, and a child's toys; and the drama of every scene, where every figure is a personality, major or minor, with an integral role; and the balance of indoor and outdoor presentations, and the depictions of sunset, daytime and moonlight. I can only imagine the artist immersed himself in historical description and visual references, and made numerous preliminary sketches.

I copied these illustrations at the highest possible resolution, and worked with the brightness and contrast to lighten them just a touch to bring out the detail, while retaining the original color tones and balance. The original scans are exceptionally good.

Click on each image for great detail.



Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1908

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

Frontispiece: Tristram and Iseult




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1908

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

The castle rose by the sea-coast, fair and strong, well
fortified against all assault and all engines of war.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1908

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

She alone, cunning in the use of philtres,
could save Tristram.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1909

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds
London: William Heinemann, c1910

Tristram spurred his horse
against him with such fury...




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1909

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds
London: William Heinemann, c1910

At this moment Bragwaine entered, and saw how they gazed
at each other in silence, ravished and amazed.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1909

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

Eighteen days from that time, having convoked
all his barons, he took Iseult the Fair to wife.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1909

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

Above in the branches the King was moved
to pity, and he smiled gently.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1909

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

Unless the King would send his nephew
out of the country, they would retire into their castles
and make war upon him.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1908

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

Presently the news spread
throughout the city in the darkness.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1909

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

The lovers lived crouching in the hollow of a rock...




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1909

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

All night, passing through the beloved woods
for the last time, they journeyed in silence.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1909

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

The palace gates were thrown open to all comers;
rich and poor might sit down and eat.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1909

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

She stretched out her arms
on either side, the palms open.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1909

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

Under the trees he pressed her to his heart
without a word.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1908

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

She took the magic bell, rang it
for the last time, then threw it into the sea.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1908

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

Then the two on foot, with shattered shields
and hauberks unbuckled, defied and assailed each other.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1909

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

The Queen sings sweetly.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1909

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

King Mark and Iseult the Fair
were seated at chess.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1908

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

Tristram disguised himself as a beggar.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1909

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

She gave up the ghost and died beside him for grief.




Maurice Lalau ~ The Romance of Tristram and Iseult ~ 1910

Translated from the French by Florence Simmonds

London: William Heinemann, c1910

Title Page


Saturday, November 12, 2011

Harry Clarke: The Year's At The Spring: Illustrations & Page Decorations



Harry Clarke's illustrations and page decorations for The Year's at the Spring reverberate, from the playful to the frightening, with the reveries of childhood and religious iconography inherent in turn-of-the-century collections of poetry. The page layout and typography is delightful.

These illustrations come from the first edition published in September 1920 by Brentano's (New York). The Year's at the Spring: An Anthology of Recent Poetry  was compiled by L. D'o. Walters (Lettice D'Oyly Walters), and printed in Great Britain by Turnbull & Spears, Edinburgh. Click the link to see the illustrations in their original context, at archive dot org.

For your enjoyment and study, I've included every one of Harry Clarke's full page illustrations and page decorations. The table of contents pages and list of illustrations are particularly beautiful, incorporating the decorations cropped for this post.

I first copied and worked with the images from this scanned version at archive dot org, where I found the dust jacket. I was unsatisfied with the quality of the images, because the original source material was yellowed and dull and the scans were in soft focus; so I was happy to recently find the better set of pages, which prompted me to start the project all over.

The images are in the order they appear in the book. Every named illustration is a full page, and the titles come from the list of illustrations. Page decorations range in size from small to a quarter page. Captions come from the text below each full page illustration. If you click on each image, you will be rewarded with exceptional detail.

My favorite color illustrations are A Ballad of the Captains, Arabia, The Song of the Mad Prince, and The Dead.

My favorite black and white illustrations and page decorations are numerous, including all of the front matter illustrations, The Fiddler of Dooney, Star-Talk, To The Coming Spring, and Very Nearly! I love the helmeted woman. She reminds me of the antique clothing buttons I collect.

Read more about Harry Clarke here and here.

See many more of Harry Clarke's illustrations at Will Schofield’s 50 Watts.






The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Dust Jacket
Illustrated by Harry Clarke



The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Front Matter ~ Title Illustration



The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Frontispiece
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
"And I shall have some peace there,
for peace comes dropping slow"



The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Title Page





The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Title Page Illustration



The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Introduction Page Illustration


The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Front Matter ~ Untitled Illustration




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Acknowledgment Page Illustration


The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Acknowledgment End Page Illustration



The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Contents Page Illustration



The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
List of Illustrations Illustration



The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
List of Illustrations End Page Illustration




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
April
"April, April, laugh thy girlish laughter!"




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Fiddler of Dooney
"When we come at the end of time,
to Peter sitting in state"



The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration



The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Cradle-Song
"I bring for you, aglint with dew,
a little lovely dream"





The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Donkey
"With monstrous head and sickening cry
and ears like errant wings"





The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration






The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Sea Fever
"All I ask is a windy day
with the white clouds flying"




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
A Ballad of the Captains
"... drumming up the channel,
 haling prizes in their wake"




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
A Ballad of the Captains
"With a dead Hidalgo's daughter
as a dower for the dey"



The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Arabia
"Demi-silked dark-haired musicians"




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration



The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Song of the Mad Prince
"'All time's delight hath she for narrow bed'"




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Shepperdess
"She walks - the lady of my delight-
a shepperdess of sheep"




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Dead
"Honour has come back, as a king, to earth"



The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Great Lover
"Out on the wind of time,
shining and streaming"




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Great Lover
"Moist black earthen mould;...
and high places; footprints in the dew"




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
If I Had a Broomstick
"If I had a broomstick"




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration ~ 2nd Use




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Dying Patriot
"And the dead robed in red and sea-lilies overhead
sway when the long winds blow"




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
The Dying Patriot
"I saw them march from Dover, long ago"




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Star-Talk
"How is your trade, Aquarius, this frosty night?"




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration



The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Overheard on a Saltmarsh
"Give me your beads. I desire them. No."




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Page Decoration




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
To The Coming Spring
"With magic key... unlocking buds
that keep the roses"




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Alms in Autumn
"They'll set the realms of fairyland
all dancing with delight"





The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Very Nearly!
"All alone, those rocks amid--
one night I very nearly did!"



The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
All is Spirit and Part of Me
"I am born of a thousand storms,
and grey with the rushing rains"




The Year's at the Spring ~ 1920 ~ Harry Clarke
Black and White
"Midst of all was a cold white face"