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
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