Signed Rockwell Kent Limited Edition of Venus and Adonis

by William Shakespeare — Illustrated & Signed by Rockwell Kent • 1931 Leo Hart Fine Press Edition

Edition & Provenance

Rochester: The Printing House of Leo Hart, 1931. First and only edition. One of 1,250 hand-numbered copies signed by celebrated American artist Rockwell Kent, whose distinctive modernist illustrations revitalised private-press book design in the twentieth century.

Kent's refined linework is paired here with Shakespeare's earliest published poem, the sensuous and myth-laden Venus and Adonis — first printed in 1593 as the Bard's debut in print. This fine press edition honours that origin with elegant typography by Will Ransom, wide margins and deckle edges that show every deliberate impression of the type.

Privately printed under the personal direction of Leo Hart, noted for his insistence on traditional craft at a moment when industrial printing was beginning to dominate. As Hart himself wrote, books should be made "as if the future would judge us".

This copy is hand-numbered No. 586 and signed in ink by Rockwell Kent.

Rockwell Kent & Artistic Significance

Rockwell Kent was one of America's most distinctive visual voices: explorer, illustrator and activist. His illustrated editions of Melville's Moby-Dick, Shakespeare and other classics are now touchstones of American book art. A signed private-press Shakespeare from Kent's hand is therefore a highly desirable book for collectors.

Examples of this edition are held in major institutional collections, including Harvard University and The Morgan Library.

Physical Description

• Large quarto format (11 x 9 in) ; deckle-edged Hand & Arrows paper.
• Original quarter brown cloth spine with gilt lettering.
• Light cloth boards, clean and beautifully preserved.
• Binding tight and square; no internal markings observed.
• Original matching slipcase, structurally sound with mild age-toning and some tear and wear on edges.
• Printed from the Oxford University Press text.

Condition

• Interior very clean and bright with fresh impressions of type and illustration.
• Very light age-toning to edges only.
• Slipcase with gentle rubbing and cosmetic wear, no splits.

Please study the photographs for a full sense of condition. Further images available on request.

Collector Importance

A standout example of American fine-press craft, uniting Shakespeare's first printed work with Rockwell Kent's elegant modernism in a signed, limited edition. An excellent choice for collectors of Shakespeare, Kent, or the golden age of American bookmaking.

Shipping

The book will be carefully packed in a protective box.