Title Page
Date1906
Artist
Aubrey Vincent Beardsley
(British draftsman, illustrator and writer, 1872–1898)
Illustration CitationA Portfolio of Aubrey Beardsley's drawings illustrating "Salome," by Oscar Wilde (John Lane: London, c. 1906)
MediumOffset lithograph
Dimensionscomposition: 8 11/16 × 6 5/8 in. (22.1 × 16.8 cm)
sheet: 13 1/4 × 10 1/4 in. (33.7 × 26 cm)
sheet: 13 1/4 × 10 1/4 in. (33.7 × 26 cm)
Credit LineAcquisition Fund, 2010
Object number2010-31.2
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPRINT
Label TextThe L-shaped presentation of the title information heralded a new era of book design in the 1890s, of which James McNeill Whistler, Oscar Wilde, and Beardsley were primary proponents. Beardsley’s emblematic signature, consisting of three parallel lines, is incorporated into the design at lower left. The butterfly-cum-bat motif at lower right is a reference to Whistler’s infamous signature. The male genitalia was removed from the published image as it was inappropriate for booksellers’ window displays.
