Cloth binding with impressed design in black ink

Aubrey Beardsley

1894

A blue cloth with a gilt pattern impressed using a brass die

7 x 6¼ inches

One of the more provocative designs in the Keynote Series, this binding combines suggestive imagery with a sophisticated arrangement of space. As in Beardsley’s illustrations as a whole, the composition is conceived in terms of balance, symmetry, and contrast.

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Photograph and text by Simon Cooke

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