BIBLIOPHILIA / Exceptional binding by Cedric CHIVERS (1854-1 - Lot 242

BIBLIOPHILIA / Exceptional binding by Cedric CHIVERS (1854-1929, English bookbinder based in Bath, considered the binding virtuoso of his time): A true work of art, this binding was commissioned by Ella Waterman Goddard (1843-1902, American) to preserve A tale of a Christmas eve masque, a tale she wrote in memory of her son St-Mar Goddard, who had just died on December 19, 1901; St-Mar (1866-1901), a divine madman, a sickly, demented character, was his mother's sole passionate center; Ella Goddard, daughter of a multimillionaire and divorced from Major Henry Seaman Goddard, was an unstable woman with a nomadic temperament (she owned numerous properties in the United States and London, as well as the Château Grimaldi in Menton). We know all about her life from the memoirs of her daughter Romaine Brooks, an American painter and companion of Natalie Clifford Barney and Ida Rubinstein; Romaine always felt rejected by her mother, whose obsessions were her son St-Mar and her attraction to the supernatural; Ella Goddard wrote this tale in December 1901, published a few copies on her own account and soon lost touch with reality, dying 10 months after her son - The work presented is an imposing volume (31 x 41 cm, 2.7 kg), printed in 1902 by Hazell Watson Viney in London Aylesbury, hors commerce (privately printed), the entire work is illustrated by Herbert Granville Fell (1872-1952, painter and illustrator very active in the Art-Nouveau movement), the frontispiece illustrated by Granville Fell clearly states that this tale is in memoriam of his beloved son St-Mar, 16 pages of text are profusely illustrated by Granville Fell - the binding is in full burgundy morocco, signed at the bottom of the spine of the 2nd inside back cover by Cedric Chivers Bath, the 1st plate is gold-stamped in the center with the title and the author's name, with a large illustration by Granville Fell (monogrammed), this plate features a double frame of gold filleting, the spine is mute, the 2nd plate repeats the double frame of gold filleting, the 2 inside covers are particularly well cared for, they are lined with a burgundy chagrin frame delimited by 2 gold fillets and richly gold-stamped with ornaments, the center is trimmed with pink wild silk, the extreme center of the 1st counterplate features a watercolor-framed cartonnage designed to receive a dedication, and the edges are gilded (this binding, over 120 years old, shows some signs of age, with a few rubs, notably at the foot of the spine and at the headband, but the interior is in a fine, fresh condition).