WILDE OSCAR For Love of the King A Burmese Masque

Sale 2355 - Lot 275

Price Realized: $ 250

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 350 - $ 500

WILDE, OSCAR. For Love of the King: A Burmese Masque. 8vo, rebound in 3/4 tan morocco over marbled boards, spine lettered in gilt. London: Methuen & Co., (1924)

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one of 1000 copies printed on handmade paper of this controversial book. The Introductory Note states that Wilde wrote this work in 1894 "as a personal gift to the author's friend and friend of his family, Mrs. Chan Toon," otherwise known as Mabel Cosgrove (who was married to the nephew of the king of Burma). Methuen published it in this edition and also included it as a supplement to their edition of Wilde's collected works. Soon after publication, Wilde bibliographer Christopher Millard (known as Stuart Mason) sued the publisher for trying to pass this work off to the public as Wilde's. He believed that Cosgrove, who had tried to sell him forged Wilde letters, wrote the manuscript herself and gave it to Methuen. There was a large scandal (one story was that Wilde endorsed the book from beyond the grave, as communicated through a medium). After the lawsuit, Methuen never published this work again.