A Revised Latin Text of the Satyricon, Illustrated by Norman Lindsay (First Limited Edition, Signed)

PETRONIUS, Caius Arbiter. A Revised Latin Text of the Satyricon with the Earliest English Translation (1694) by William Burnaby, Now First Reprinted with an Introduction by Sir Stephen Gaselee, Together with One Hundred Illustrations by Norman Lindsay. London: Privately Printed by Ralph Straus, 1910.

Folio (33 x 26 cm). Original publisher's quarter vellum and blue paper boards, gilt titling to spine, titling in black to upper cover. Frontispiece, xv, 303 pp., 100 full-page plates. Latin text on verso with English translation facing on recto throughout. Upper edge gilt, others uncut. Limited to 265 copies (250 for sale to subscribers), number 86. Signed by Norman Lindsay and Ralph Straus.

A brilliant and challenging work that occupies a distinguished position in the history of controversial publications. The love-child of two brilliant figures, Ralph Straus and Norman Lindsay, Burnaby's translation of Petronius's Satyricon formed the perfect basis of an audacious publishing venture. For Straus, London bibliophile and man of letters, this was an act of rescue for a stagnant era. For Lindsay, only 28 and already one of Australia's most controversial artists, this represented an opportunity to push his craft and style into the wider world. 

Lindsay and Petronius form a natural pairing. Gaius Petronius Arbiter — courtier, aesthete, and self-described arbiter of elegance at the court of Nero — wrote the Satyricon as a mock-epic of Roman low life, its pages alive with feasting, desire, social ambition, and the comedy of the flesh. Lindsay's hundred illustrations respond to this world with the exuberant draftsmanship and unabashed delight in the human body that would define his career: figures of classical authority rendered with a vitality that is entirely his own.

Due to the controversy surrounding this publication, as well as the high production costs, this work was produced in a small print run of 265 copies for private subscribers. It is very rare on the market and remains one of the most sought after among all of the books Lindsay has illustrated.

Fair. Spine and covers soiled with some water markings. Contents near fine, generally clear and bright, with a few minor blemishes. The plates remain fine throughout.

This book is currently not on display in store. If you would like more information or to arrange a viewing, please contact: rarebooks@harryhartog.com.au

Catalogue Number: HH000459