Vathek

1929

Special Collections PR4091 V37 1929

London: Nonesuch Press

William Beckford (1760-1844), novelist, art collector and politician, wrote his orientalist gothic tale, Vathek, in French in the 1780s. This Nonesuch Press edition appeared in 1929 with illustrations by the American Marion V. Dorn (1896-1964), who was a successful designer in London in the 1920s and 30s. She specialised in textile design; this edition of Vathek was her only foray into books. Nonesuch Press was founded in London in 1922 by Francis Meynell, who believed that good quality books could be designed and produced by commercial printers who were capable of producing fine quality printing. Meynell’s ‘farming out’ of his books meant they were cheaper and more accessible to the wider public. This copy was purchased by Special Collections in 2013.