THE GRAVE AT BAGNEUX.
And a short time afterwards, Wilde went back to Paris.[1]
His play was not written—it will never be written now. Society well knows what steps to take when it wants to crush a man, and it has means more subtle than death. Wilde had suffered too grievously for the last two years, and in too submissive a manner, and his will had been broken. For the first few months he might still have entertained illusions, but he soon gave them up. It was as [Pg 82]though he had signed his abdication. Nothing remained in his shattered life but a mouldy ruin, painful to contemplate, of his former self. At times he seemed to wish to show that his brain was still active. Humour there was, but it was far-fetched, forced, and threadbare.
I met him again on two occasions only. One evening on the Boulevards, where I was walking with G——, I heard my name called. I turned round and saw Wilde. Ah! how changed he was. 'If I appear again before writing my play, the world will refuse to see in me anything except the felon,' he had once said to me. He had appeared again, without his play, and as he found certain doors closed in his face, he no longer sought admission anywhere. He prowled.
Friends, at different times, tried to save him[2]. [Pg 83]They did all they could think of, and were for taking him to Italy, but he eluded their efforts, and began to drift back. Among those who had remained faithful for the longest time, some had often told me that Wilde was no longer to be seen, and I was somewhat uneasy, I admit, at seeing him again, and what is more, in a place where so many people might pass. Wilde was sitting at a table outside a café. He ordered two cock-tails for G—— and myself. I was going to sit opposite to him in such a way as to turn my back to the passers-by, but Wilde, noticed this movement, which he took as an impulse of absurd shame, (he was not entirely mistaken, I must admit), and said, 'Oh, sit here, near me,' pointing [Pg 84]to a chair at his side, 'I am so much alone just now.'
Wilde was still well-dressed, but his hat was not so glossy; his collar was of the same shape, but it was not so clean, and the sleeves of his coat were slightly frayed at the edges.
'When I used to meet Verlaine in days gone by,' he continued with an outburst of pride, 'I was never ashamed of being seen with him. I was rich, light-hearted, and covered with glory, but I felt that to be seen with him was an honour, even when Verlaine was drunk.' Then fearing to bore G——, I think, he suddenly changed his mood, tried to be witty and to make jokes. In the effort he became gloomy. My recollections here are dreadfully sad. At last my friend and I got up. Wilde insisted on paying for the drinks, and I was about to say good-bye, when he took me aside, and, with an air of great embarrassment, [Pg 85]said in a low voice, 'I say, I must tell you, I am absolutely without a penny[3].
Some days afterwards I saw him again, and for [Pg 86]the last time. I do not want to repeat more than one word of our conversation. He told me of his troubles, of the impossibility of carrying out, or [Pg 87]even of beginning, a piece of work[4]. Sadly I reminded him of the promise he had made not to show himself in Paris without having finished one book. 'Ah!' I began, 'why did you leave Berneval so soon, when you ought to have stayed there so long? I cannot say that I am angry with you, but—'
He interrupted me, laid his hand on mine, looked at me with his most sorrowful look, and [Pg 88]said, 'You must not be angry with one who has been crushed[5].'
Oscar Wilde died in a shabby little hotel in the Rue des Beaux Arts. Seven persons followed the hearse, and even they did not all accompany the funeral procession to the end. On the coffin were some flowers and some artificial wreaths, only one of which, I am told, bore any inscription. It was from the proprietor of the hotel, and on it were these words: 'A Mon Locataire.'
[1] The representatives of his family were willing to guarantee Wilde a very good position if he would consent to certain stipulations, one of which was that he should never see —— again. He was either unable or unwilling to accept the conditions.
[2] In October, 1897, he stayed with friends at the Villa Gindice, Posillipo, and was in Naples till the end of the year, or the beginning of 1898, when he went to Paris. In the following year he went to the South of France (Nice) for the spring, but was back in June or July. He went also to Switzerland in 1899 and stayed some time at Gland.
[3] M. Gide says that Wilde's words were 'je suis absolument sans ressources,' which, I think, need not mean more than a temporary embarrassment. I have been at some pains to find out what the actual circumstances were, and I am able to state the following facts on the authority of Lord Alfred Douglas. When Mr. Wilde came out of prison, the sum of £800 was subscribed for him by his friends. Lord Alfred Douglas gave or sent Mr. Wilde, in the last twelve months of his life, cheques for over £600, as he can show by his bank-book, in addition to ready money gifts, and several others gave him at various times amounts totalling up to several hundreds of pounds. 'It is true,' Lord Alfred Douglas writes, 'he was always hard up and short of money, but that was because he was incurably extravagant and reckless. I think these facts ought to be known in justice to myself and many others of his friends, all poor men.' In another letter Lord Alfred Douglas says that Mr. Wilde, when he was well off, before his disaster, was the most generous of men. After 1897 received also large sums of money as advance fees for plays which he never finished. 'I hope,' Lord Alfred Douglas continues, 'you will not think that I blame him, or have any grievance against him on any account. What I gave him I considered I owed him, as he had often lent and given me money before he came to grief. I was delighted that he should have it, and I wish I had had time to give him more.' It was not, however, till after the death of his father, that Lord Alfred Douglas was in a position to help Mr. Wilde to the extent that he did, and Mr. Wilde died within a few months of the death of Lord Queensberry.
Lord Alfred Douglas adds that he thinks 'it is about time that some of the poisonous nonsense which has been written about Mr. Wilde should be qualified by a little fact.'
It must be remembered, however, that large as the sums of money were which Mr. Wilde received during the last few years of his life, they would not appear so to him, as in the days of his highest success he was receiving several thousands a year from his plays and other works.
It is since the first sheets of this book passed through the press that I have been favoured with the information that Lord Alfred Douglas has been good enough to give me, and I now wish to qualify the statement in my introductory remarks that Mr. Wilde died 'in poverty.' It would be more accurate to say 'in comparative poverty.'
[4] Two plays produced in London shortly hefore his death have been attributed to Oscar Wilde. One of these, The Tyranny of Tears, does not contain a single line of his. The other is Mr. and Mrs. Daventry, the plot of which was originally Oscar Wilde's, and he sketched out the scenario. The play was then sold to Mr. Frank Harris, who has always acknowledged Wilde's share in it, but the piece was entirely transformed, and except one or two of the situations in it there was very little left of Wilde's idea.
Referring to such works as the translations of Ce Qui ne Meurt pas and the Satyricon which have heen issued under Oscar Wilde's name, Mr. Robert Ross (the editor of De Profundis), writes:—'No one can produce even a scrap of MS. in the author's handwriting of these so-called "last works."'
[5] 'Scandals used to lend charm, or at least interest, to a man—now they crush him.'—An Ideal Husband, Act I.
Author of 'Ravenna.'
By Augustus M. Moore.
Αἴλινον, αἴινον εἰπὲ, Τὸ δ᾽ ευ̉ νικάτω. Dublin University Magazine, September, 1876.
Apologia. Poets and Poetry of the Century, Edited by A. H. Miles, Vol. viii, 1891, 1898.
Artist, The. In 'Poems in Prose.'
Artist's Dream, The. Green Room, Routledge's Christmas Annual, 1880.
Ave Imperatrix! A Poem on England. World, August 25, 1880.
Ave! Maria. Kottabos, Michaelmas Term, 1879.
Ballad of Reading Gaol, The. Leonard Smithers, 1898 (February), 7th Edition, 1899.
Birthday of the Infanta, The. (Le Figaro Illustré, Christmas Number?). In 'A House of Pomegranates.'
Canterville Ghost, The. Illustrations by F. H. Townsend. Court and Society Review, February 23, March 2, 1887. In 'Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories.'
Case of Warder Martin, The. Daily Chronicle, May 28, 1897.
Children in Prison. Murdoch & Co., 1898 (February).
[Pg 94]Chinese Sage, A. Speaker, February 8, 1890
Conqueror of Time, The. Time, April, 1879.
Critic as Artist, The. In 'Intentions.'
De Profundis. Methuen & Co., 1905 (February 23), 4th Edition, March, 1905.
Decay of Lying, The. A Dialogue. Nineteenth Century, January, 1889. In 'Intentions.'
Devoted Friend, The. In 'The Happy Prince and Other Tales.'
Δηξίθυμον Ἔρωτος Ἄνθος. Kottabos, Trinity Term, 1876.
Disciple, The. Spirit Lamp, June 6, 1893. In 'Poems in Prose.'
Doer of Good, The. In 'Poems in Prose.'
Dole of the King's Daughter, The. Dublin University Magazine, June, 1876.
Don't Read This if You Want to be Happy To-day. Daily Chronicle, March 24, 1898.
Duchess of Padua, The. Privately printed for the Author; America, 1883[1].
English Poetesses. Queen, December 8, 1888.
[Pg 95]English Renaissance, Lecture on the. G. Munro's Seaside library, Vol. 58, No. 1183. New York, January 19, 1882.
Ethics of Journalism, The. Pall Mall Gazette, September 20, 25, 1894.
Fascinating Book, A. Womans World, November, 1888.
Fisherman and his Soul, The. In 'A House of Pomegranates.'
Fragment from the Agamemnon of Æschylos, A. Kottabos, Hilary Term, 1877.
From Spring Days to Winter (for Music). Dublin University Magazine, January, 1876.
Graffiti d'Italia (Arona. Lago Maggiore). Month and Catholic Review, September, 1876.
Graffiti d'Italia (San Miniato). Dublin University Magazine, March, 1876.
Grave of Keats, The. Burlington, January, 1881.
'Green Carnation, The.' Pall Mall Gazette, Oct. 2, 1894.
Grosvenor Gallery, The. Dublin University Magazine, July, 1877.
Guido Ferranti (Selection from 'The Duchess of Padua'). Werner's Readings and Recitations, New York, 1891.
Happy Prince and other Tales, The. David Nutt, 1888 (May), 1889 (January), 1902 (February).
Helas! Poets and Poetry of the Century. Edited by A. H. Miles, Vol. viii, 1891, 1898.
Harlot's House, The. 1885[2]
[Pg 96]Heu Miserande Puer! See 'Tomb of Keats, The.'
House of Judgment, The. Spirit Lamp, February 17, 1893. In 'Poems in Prose.'
House of Pomegranates, A. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., 1891 (November).
House of Pomegranates, A (Reply to Criticism of). Speaker, December 5, 1891.
Ideal Husband, An. Leonard Smithers & Co., 1899 (July)
Importance of being Earnest, The. Leonard Smithers & Co., 1899 (February).
Impression de Matin. World, March 2, 1881[3].
Intentions. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., 1891 (May). New Edition, 1894[4].
Keats' Love Letters, Sonnet on the Recent Sale by Auction of. Dramatic Review, January 23, 1886.
Keats' Sonnet on Blue. Century Guild Hobby Horse, July, 1886.
La Belle Marguerite. Ballade du Moyen Age. Kottabos, Hilary Term, 1879.
La Fuite de la Lune. Poems and Lyrics of Nature, Edited by E. W. Rinder, Walter Scott, 1894 (May 9).
[Pg 97]Lady Alroy. World, May 25, 1887. In 'Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and other Stories.'
Lady Windermere's Fan. Elkin Mathews & John Lane, 1893 (November 8).
Le Jardin des Tuileries. In a Good Cause, Wells Gardner, Darton & Co., 1885 (June).
L'Envoi. Rose Leaf and Apple Leaf, by Rennell Rodd. J. M. Stoddart & Co., Philadelphia, 1882.
Le Reveillon. Poems and Lyrics of Nature. Edited by E. W. Rinder. Walter Scott, 1894 (May 9).
Les Silhouettes. Poems and Lyrics of Nature. Edited by E. W. Rinder. Walter Scott, 1894 (May 9).
Libel Action against Lord Queensberry, The. Evening News, April 5, 1895.
Libertatis Sacra Fames. World, November 10, 1880[5].
Literary and other Notes. Woman's World, November, December, 1887; January to March, 1888.
London Models. Illustrations by Harper Pennington. English Illustrated Magazine, January, 1889.
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime. A story of Cheiromancy. Illustrations by F. H. Townsend. Court and Society Review, May 11, 18, 25, 1887. In 'Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories.'
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and other Stories. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., 1891 (July).
Lotus Leaves. Irish Monthly, February, 1877.
Magdalen Walks. Irish Monthly, April, 1878.
[Pg 98]Master, The. In 'Poems and Prose.'
Model Millionaire, The. World, June 22, 1887. In 'Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and other Stories.'
More Radical Ideas on Dress Reform. Pall Mall Gazette, November 11, 1884.
Mr. Pater's Last Volume. Speaker, March 22, 1890.
Mr. Whistler's Ten O'Clock. Pall Mall Gazette, February 21, 1885.
New Helen, The. Time, July, 1879.
New Remorse, The. Spirit Lamp, December 6, 1892.
Night Vision, A. Kottabos, Hilary Term, 1877.
Nightingale and the Rose, The. La Plume, December 15, 1900. In 'The Happy Prince and Other Tales.'
Note on Some Modern Poets, A. Woman's World, December, 1888.
Oh! Beautiful Star. (Three verses of 'Under the Balcony'). Set to music by Lawrence Kellie. Robert Cocks & Co., 1892.
On Criticism; with some Remarks on the Importance of doing Nothing. Nineteenth Century, July, September, 1890. In 'Intentions.'
Pen, Pencil, and Poison: A Study. Fortnightly Review, January, 1889. In 'Intentions.'
Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young. Chameleon, 1894 (December).
Phêdre. See 'To Sarah Bernhardt.'
Picture of Dorian Gray, The (13 Chapters). Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, July, 1890.
[Pg 99]Picture of Dorian Gray, The (20 Chapters). Ward, Lock & Co., 1891 (July 1). New Edition, 1894 (October 1).
Picture of Dorian Gray, The. (Replies to Criticism of). Daily Chronicle, July 2, 1890. Scots Observer, July 12, August 2, 16, 1890.
Poems. David Bogue, 1881 (July). 5th Edition, 1882. Elkin Mathews & John Lane, 1892 (May 26).
Poems in Prose. Fortnightly Review, July, 1894.
Πόντος Ἀτρύγετος. Irish Monthly, December, 1877.
Portia. World, January 14, 1880.
Portrait of Mr. W. H., The. Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, July, 1889[6].
Preface to 'Dorian Gray,' A. Fortnightly Review, March, 1891.
Puppets and Actors. Daily Telegraph, February?, 1892[7].
Queen Henrietta Maria (Charles I., act iii.). World, July 16, 1879.
Ravenna. T. Shrimpton & Son, Oxford, 1878 (June).
[Pg 100]Remarkable Rocket, The. In 'The Happy Prince and Other Tales.'
Requiescat. Dublin Verses, by Members of Trinity College. Elkin Mathews, 1895.
Rise of Historical Criticism, The. Privately printed. America, 1905[8].
Rose of Love and with a Rose's Thorns. See Δηξίθυμον Ἔρωτος Ἄνθος.
Roses and Rue. Midsummer Dreams, Summer Number of Society, July, 1885.
Salomé (French Edition.) Librairie de l'Art Indépendant, Paris, 1893 (February 22).
Salome (English Edition). Elkin Mathews & John Lane, 1894 (February 9).
Salve Saturnia Tellus. Irish Monthly, June, 1877.
Selfish Giant, The. In 'The Happy Prince and Other Tales.'
Sen Artysty; or, the Artist's Dream. See 'Artist's Dream, The.'
Shakespeare and Stage Costume. Nineteenth Century, May, 1885. In 'Intentions.'
Some Cruelties of Prison Life. See 'Case of Warder Martin, The,' and 'Children in Prison.'
Some Literary Notes. Woman's World, January to June, 1889.
Relation of Dress to Art, The. Pall Mall Gazette, February 28, 1885.
[Pg 101]Soul of Man under Socialism, The. Fortnightly Review, February, 1891[9].
Sphinx, The. Elkin Mathews & John Lane, 1894 (September 29).
Sphinx without a Secret, The. See 'Lady Alroy.'
Star-Child, The. In 'A House of Pomegranates.'
Teacher of Wisdom, The. In 'Poems in Prose.'
Theocritus. Ballades and Rondeaus. Selected by Gleeson White. Walter Scott Publishing Co., 1889 (June 30)[10].
Θρηνῳδία. Kottabos, Michaelmas Term, 1876.
To Milton. Poets and Poetry of the Century, Edited by A. H. Miles, Vol. viii, 1891, 1898.
To My Wife: with a Copy of My Poems. Book-Song, Elliot Stock, 1893.
To Sarah Bernhardt. World, June 11, 1879.
Tomb of Keats, The. Irish Monthly, July, 1877.
True Function and Value of Criticism, The. See 'Critic as Artist, The,' and 'On Criticism.'
[Pg 102]True Knowledge, The. Irish Monthly, September, 1876[11].
Truth of Masks, The. See 'Shakespeare and Stage Costume.'
Under the Balcony. Shaksperean Show-Book (May 29, 1884). See 'Oh! Beautiful Star!'
Un Amant de nos Jours. Court and Society Review, December 13, 1887. See 'New Remorse, The.'
Vera, or the Nihilists. Privately printed for the Author; America, 1882.
Vita Nuova. See Πόντος Ἀτρύγετος.
Wasted Days (From a Picture Painted by Miss V. T.). Kottabos, Michaelmas Term, 1877.
Whistler, Correspondence with. World, November 14, 1883; February 25, 1885; November 24, 1886. Truth, January 9, 1890.
Whistler's Lectures Reviewed. See 'Mr. Whistler's Ten O'Clock 'and 'Relation of Dress to Art, The.'
With a Copy of 'A House of Pomegranates.' Book-Song, Elliot Stock, 1893.
Woman of no Importance, A. John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1894 (October 9).
Woman's World, The. Edited by Oscar Wilde, 1887–9. Cassell & Co.
Young King, The. Illustrations by Bernard Partridge. Lady's Pictorial, Christmas Number, 1888. In 'A House of Pomegranates.'
[1] The title-page reads:—The Duchess of Padua A Tragedy of the XVI Century by Oscar Wilde Author of "Vera," etc. Written in Paris in the XIX Century. Privately printed as Manuscript. March 15, 1883 a. d.
The cover is inscribed 'Op. II.' Twenty copies were printed, of which one only is known to exist in England, the property of Mr. Robert Ross. It is in grey paper wrappers, 8vo., pp. 122. The play was acted in America in 1883 by the late Lawrence Barrett, shortly before his death. It is sometimes known as Guido Ferranti.
[2] The original publication of 'The Harlot's House' has not yet been traced. The approximate date is known by a parody on the poem, called 'The Public House, 'which appeared in The Sporting Times of June 13, 1885. In 1904 a privately printed edition, on folio paper, with five illustrations by Althea Gyles, was issued by 'The Mathurin Press,' London. In 1905 another edition was privately printed in London, pp. 8, wrappers.
[3] See Notes and Queries, Series ix., vol. xii., page 85.
[4] Continental Edition issued by Messrs. Heinemann and Balestier in 'The English Library,' No. 54. 1891.
[5] See Sonnets of this Century. Edited by William Sharp. Walter Scott Publishing Co., 1888 (March 22).
[6] Early in 1894, Messrs. Elkin Mathews and John Lane announced as being in preparation, 'The incomparable and ingenious history of Mr. W. H., being the true secret of Shakespear's sonnets, now for the first time here fully set forth. With initial letters and cover design by Charles Ricketts.' On the evening of his arrest, April 5, 1895, the publishers returned the MS. to Mr. Wilde's house, and it is said to have been stolen from there a few hours later.
[7] See Saturday Review, July 2, 1892.
[8] The authenticity of this work is not vouched for.
[9] It was the author's wish that 'The Soul of Man under Socialism' should be known as 'The Soul of Man,' and by this title he himself refers to it in De Profundis. A privately printed edition was published by Mr. Arthur L. Humphreys under this title in 1895, and again in 1904 in 'Sebastian Melmoth.' It appeared also in Wilshire's Magazine, Toronto, Canada, for June, 1902; and, under its original title, in a pirated edition issued in London, 1904; and in a beautiful edition published by Mr. Thos. B. Mosher, of Portland, Maine, U.S.A., April, 1905.
[10] See Literature, December 8, 1900.
[11] Re-printed in Dublin Verses, 1895; and The Tablet, December 8, 1900.
In the foregoing list the following particulars are given:—
The publications of Messrs. Elkin Mathews and John Lane, and of Mr. John Lane, were issued simultaneously in America by Messrs. Copeland and Day, of Boston. De Profundis was published in America by Messrs. G. P. Putnam's Sons, of New York. Seven editions have been issued. The Decay of Lying, The Portrait of Mr. W. H., [Pg 104]and The Soul of Man under Socialism, appeared in the 'Eclectic Magazine' of New York a few weeks after publication in this country.
No notice is taken in this Bibliography of many unauthorised and pirated reprints, and those works which have been falsely attributed to Mr. Wilde by unscrupulous publishers are all rejected. Of the latter 'The Priest and the Acolyte,' and translations of 'Ce Qui ne Meurt pas' and the 'Satyricon' of Petronius are examples.
Best of Oscar Wilde, The. (Collection of Poems and Prose Extracts). Collected by C. Herrmann. Brentano, New York, 1905 (March).
Epigrams and Aphorisms. Edited by G. H. Sargent. John W. Luce & Co., Boston, U.S.A., 1905 (July).
Essays, Criticisms and Reviews. Now first collected. (From The Woman's World). Privately printed. London, 1901.
Oscariana. Epigrams. Arthur Humphreys, 1895[1].
Sebastian Melmoth (Selection from Prose Writings; and 'The Soul of Man'). Arthur L. Humphreys, 1904 (September).
[1] Only one copy bore the publisher's name. The rest were issued as 'privately printed.' The edition consisted of 25 copies only, but forged reprints are numerous. The selection of epigrams is said to have been made by Mrs. Wilde.
A House of Pomegranates.
The following is the author's own description of 'the decorative designs that make lovely' this book of 'beautiful tales,' and of 'the delicate dreams that separate and herald each story':—
'Mr. Shannon is the drawer of the dreams, and Mr. Ricketts is the subtle and fantastic decorator. Indeed, it is to Mr. Ricketts that the entire decorative design of the book is due, from the selection of the type and the placing of the ornamentation, to the completely beautiful cover that encloses the whole.... The artistic beauty of the cover resides in the delicate tracing, arabesques, and massing of many coral-red lines on a ground of white ivory, the colour effect culminating in certain high gilt notes, and being made still more pleasurable by the overlapping band of moss-green cloth that holds the book together.'
The Ballad of Reading Gaol.
1st edition, 8vo, pp. 31, 800 copies on hand-made paper, and 30 on Japan vellum, February, 1898. Before the 2nd [Pg 108]edition was published, in March, the author made several alterations in the text. The 3rd edition was 99 copies only, each signed by the author; bound in purple cloth sides, 4to. Editions 4, 5, and 6 (1898) are similar to the 2nd edition and the number of each edition is printed on the back of title-page. The 7th edition (1899) bears the author's name on the title-page. It is the last of Smithers' editions on hand-made paper. All his subsequent editions are printed in a new type from stereotyped plates, on thick wove paper, and bear no number to distinguish the edition. They are all dated 1899.
De Profundis.
Of the 1st edition 200 copies were printed on hand-made paper at 21/- and 50 on Japan vellum at 42/-. Of the ordinary 5/- edition four impressions were issued within a month of publication.
The Happy Prince and Other Tales.
Of the 1st edition 75 copies (65 for sale) were printed on large paper with the plates in two states. Of the small paper copies the 1st edition was published at 5/-, the 2nd and 3rd at 3/6 each.
An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest.
Each edition consists of 1000 copies, 7/6 net, and 100 on large paper, 21/- net. Twelve copies of each, signed by the author, were issued on Japan vellum. Of this edition No. 4 of each play is in the British Museum.
[Pg 109]Intentions.
1st edition, 1891, 7/6; new edition, 1894, 3/6.
Lady Windermere's Fan and A Woman of No Importance.
With a specially designed binding to each volume by Charles Shannon. 500 copies, sm. 4to, 7/6 net, and 50 copies large paper, 15/- net.
The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Of the 1st edition 250 copies on hand-made paper, signed by the author, were issued at 21/-, dated 1891. The small paper editions are not dated. The 2nd (1894) can be distinguished from the 1st (1891) by the publisher's name, Ward, Lock and Bowden, Limited, on the title-page. The published price of each was 6/-.
Poems.
Bogue's 1st, 2nd and 3rd editions are dated 1881, pp. 236. The 4th and 5th editions (1882) have several alterations made by the author in the text, and contain 234 pages only. The edition published by Elkin Mathews and John Lane in 1892 consisted of 220 copies (200 for sale), on hand-made paper, with cover design by Charles Ricketts, price 15/-. The text is a reprint of Bogue's 1882 editions.
Ravenna.
Forged imitations of Messrs. Shrimpton and Son's edition are common. They can be distinguished from the originals by [Pg 110]the omission of the Arras of Oxford University on cover and title-page.
Salomé.
The edition in French, limited to 600 copies (500 for sale), printed in Paris, was published by the Librairie de l'Art Indépendant, Paris, and Messrs. Matthews and Lane, London; pp. 84, purple wrappers lettered in silver, 5/- net. The English edition was translated by Lord Alfred Douglas and pictured by Aubrey Beardsley with 10 illustrations, title-page, tail-piece, and cover design. 500 copies, small 4to, 15/- net; 100 copies large paper, 30/- net.
The Sphinx.
Decorated throughout in line and colour and bound in a design by Charles Ricketts. 250 copies at £2/2/- net, and 25 on large paper at £5/5/- net.
Translations of many of Oscar Wilde's works have appeared in French, German, Polish, Hungarian, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and other foreign languages. Full particulars of all editions will be included in 'A Bibliography of Oscar Wilde' by Walter Ledger and Stuart Mason, now in preparation.
IN PREPARATION.
The
Sonnets of Oscar Wilde
Now First Collected.
EDITED, WITH NOTES, BY
STUART MASON.
Views and Reviews
The Uncollected Prose Writings and
Letters of Oscar Wilde.
EDITED BY
STUART MASON.
The
Bibliography of Oscar Wilde
BY
Walter Ledger and Stuart Mason.