The Lady, or the Tiger? and The Discourager of Hesitancy


By: Frank Richard Stockton (1834-1902)

Price: $750.00

Quantity: 1 available

Condition: Fine

Views: 96


Vancouver, BC, Canada: Heavenly Monkey, 2022.

8vo; two stories bound tête-bêche. 9 1/4 x 6 1/4 inches. [iv], (11); [iv], (11) pp. Each tale with a multi-color frontispiece by Walter Bachinski, along with 19 single-color illustrations at the head of each text-page, title pages printed in 2 colors; text clean unmarked. Yellow-orange cloth spine, black paper over boards, one side with a stamped pattern and the other side with gilt-stamped pattern, painted end-papers, comes in black-paper-covered slip case with printed paper spine label; binding square and tight. SIGNED by Walter Bachinski on the colophon. HM323-001. Fine.

LIMITED EDITION of 30 numbered copies (six reserved hors commerce), this is number 9, SIGNED by the artist on the colophon. Set in Weiss and American Until types printed on dampened Barcham Green Canterbury handmade paper.

"Frank Richard Stockton was an American writer and humorist, best known today for a series of innovative children's fairy tales that were widely popular during the last decades of the nineteenth century. His most famous fable, "The Lady, or the Tiger?", is about a man sentenced to an unusual punishment for having a romance with a king's believe daughter. Taken to the public arena, he is faced with two doors, behind one of which is a hungry tiger that will devour him. Behind the other is a beautiful lady-in-waiting, whom he will have to marry, if he opens that door. While the crowd waits anxiously for his decision, he sees the princess among the spectators, who points him to the door on the right. The lover starts to open the door and … the story end abruptly there. Did the princess save her love by pointing to the door leading to the lady-in-waiting, or did she prefer to see her lover die rather than see him marry someone else? That quandary has made the story a staple in English classes in American schools, especially since Stockton was careful never to hint at what he thought the ending would be." He also wrote a sequel to the story, "The Discourager of Hesitancy." Wikipedia. Both short stories are included here.

Walter Bachinski (b. 1939) is a Canadian artist who received a degree at the University of Iowa; he subsequently was a teacher at the University of Guelph from 1970 to 1994. Currently works exclusively in his studio in Shanty Bay, Ontario, where he works on book projects, pastel, prints, and sculpture.

Title: The Lady, or the Tiger? and The Discourager of Hesitancy

Author Name: Frank Richard Stockton (1834-1902)

Edition: LIMITED EDITION, FIRST thus, of 30 numbered copies (six reserved hors commerce), this is number 9

Created: 2022

Country of Origin: Canada

Illustrator: Walter Bachinski (b. 1939)

Location Published: Vancouver, BC, Canada, Heavenly Monkey: 2022

Binding: Yellow-orange cloth spine, black paper over boards

Book Condition: Fine

Jacket Condition: None issued. Comes with the original slip case.

Inscription: SIGNED by Walter Bachinski on the colophon

Size: 8vo. 9 1/4 x 6 1/4 inches

Type: Book

Categories: Art, Books, Fine Press

Seller ID: HM323-001

Keywords: discourager of hesitancey, frank stockton, heavenly monkey, rollin milroy, the lady or the tiger, walter bachinski