De Profundis. de WILDE, Oscar - 1949: Being the first complete and accurate version of "Epistola: in Carcere et Vinculis" the last prose work in English... With an Introduction by Vyvyan Holland.

London: Methuen & Co. Ltd; The Collector's Book Club, 1949. First unabridged edition, first impression, signed limited issue, number 190 of 195 copies signed on the limitation page by the author's son, Vyvyan Holland, who also provided an introduction. Copies from this issue are comparatively scarce in commerce. In Wilde's final prose work, written between 1896 and 1897 in Reading Gaol following his trial for gross indecency, the poet and playwright reflects on his hedonistic lifestyle and relationships, their consequences, and the spiritual re-alignment he intended to undertake. A redacted version was first published in 1905, with all references to Lord Alfred Douglas removed: following Douglas's death in 1945, the present edition restored the missing sections from a transcription of Wilde's manuscript, originally prepared by Robbie Ross and subsequently owned by Holland. It has since been determined that this transcript includes certain typographical inaccuracies when compared to Wilde's original manuscript. By arrangement with the trade publisher, Methuen, 195 copies (and five "presentation and reference copies") were published as an "autographed limited de luxe edition" which appeared simultaneously with the trade impression. The limited edition was for sale only to members of the Collector's Book Club, based in Museum Street, London. The binding was by the firm of G. A. Cramp in Mitcham, Surrey. Octavo. Original dark red morocco, spine lettered and decorated in gilt, design blocked to front cover in gilt, purple marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, white silk bookmarker. Sporadic light rubbing, moderate foxing and toning to initial leaves: a very good copy.