The Descent of Ishtar (Eragny Press)

Hammersmith, London: Eragny Press, 1903 Hard cover, 12 mo (4 1/4 x 7 1/4 inches) in quarter blue green Michallet paper-covered boards over decorative "daisy" design paper, the title label in red applied to the left side of front board. Inside, are cream laid endpapers. The watermarked Arches paper also carries the Eragny Press watermark (best seen to the ffep.): a roughly circular monogram made up of an Art Nouveau initials "E "and "P" intersected by images of two vertically-oriented acanthus leaves. Top edge trimmed, others untrimmed. 30, [2] pp., First (and only) Edition. Letterpress, hand printed in Black, red and green, using woodblock designs created by Lucien and Esther Pissarro, with the frontispiece illustration by Author and artist Diana White, entitled "Oh that Ishtar Might Hear Me." Text is printed in Lucien Pissarro's own Brook font, created after the use of type from the Vale Press, with whom Pissarro was also engaged upon his arrival in London in 1893, was famously destroyed (i.e.,thrown in the Thames) by Charles Ricketts in 1903. Limitation page states: "This edition is strictly limited to 226 copies, of which 200 are for sale." Additional to the colophon information: "The Frontispiece has been designed by Diana White & engraved on the wood by Esther Pissarro. The double border and initial letters were designed by Lucien Pissarro and engraved by Esther Pissarro. The book has been printed by them at their Eragny Press, The Brook, Hammersmith. Finished in December 1903." **CONDITION: Near Fine. Slight browning, toward the outer edge of daisy paper (only) on boards. Corners, foot of spine very lightly rubbed. Front paste downs show ghost of tanning from an insert, and ffep. bears brief pencil notation of a former owner. A few original small printer's smudges not affecting text or designs, as expected; the Pissarros were self-trained printers, purchasing their own Albion presses in order to trim the costs of production; the challenges of printing the pages with a series of colored woodblocks led to a high degree of "spoilage" during the production, apparently, so a few random ink marks seems acceptable. A few single spots of foxing to some prelims, explained by Gentz (p. 56) as a result of the Leighton Brothers binders using acidic boards and sometimes too much glue. One end paper unopened. Else, very clean, bright , beautiful and binding is firm. Comes in a handsome custom clamshell box, in quarter olive green morocco over kelley green cloth, gilt, title to spine. Box: Near Fine.**BRITISH ARTIST and AUTHOR, DIANA WHITE (1868-1950), was at the Crystal Palace Art School in London with a young Esther (nee Bensusan) Pissarro. White played a multi-tasking role in the making of this book; as translator/"preparer" of the text, she was also responsible for creating and engraving the woodblock frontispiece illustration, (printed in black,) entitled "Oh, that Ishtar Might Hear Me." Only three Eragny Press books used illustrations by artists other than the Pissarros themselves, so this was unusual. White is said to have relied on the initial translation of the tablets by others from the original Akkadian, or cuniform;the original blocks are part of the collections of the British Museum. White continued working as a translator, as well as an artist and illustrator, but this was her most famous work. **Gentz relates that the final production of the book was left in the hands of the two women, as Lucien Pissarro was called away to France to attend the death of his father, renowned Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro, between November and March, 1903. Further, correspondence between Lucien and his wife encouraged her to print fewer numbers than stated in order to "juice" the rarity resale value, thus helping the perennially precarious family bottom line. (Gentz p. 195.) In the end it was the agreement with their sales agent, John Lane, which seems to have led to a scrupulous adherence to the truth in this matter. **Refs: Amin, Osama Shukir Muhammed, World History Encyclopedia.org, "Goddess Ishtar Descent to the Underworld Tablet" (online), 2014. Marcella C. Gentz, A History of the Eragny Press 1894-1914 (2004). Lora Urbanelli, The Book Art of Lucien Pissarro (1997). Will Ransom, Private Presses and Their Books, (1929).**LOC 16013456. Gentz, EP19, p. 194. Ransom, Eragny Press checklist No. 17, p. 263.**Provenance: F. Zara (1961) Will Ransom, (1924) J.C. Howgate. [Ransom's printed library label to rear pastedown with additional owners names.] Scarce. . Limited Edition of 226 Copies. Hard Cover. Near Fine. Illus. by Esther Pissarro (engraver, printer); Lucien Pissarro (principle artist, engraver and printer); Diana White (artist, engraver).