Book - Shakespeare, William: The Tempest. Decorated by Robert Anning Bell

Exquisite Victorian book cover by Robert Anning Bell! Stunning floral design, mother-of-pearl details & Shakespeare's 'Tempest'. A luxurious collectible art piece.


robert anning bell (illustrator), samuel poole (designer) (1863 - 1933)

Explore the intricate illustrations & designs of Robert Anning Bell & Samuel Poole! Victorian-era artistry, Shakespearean themes, & innovative patterns – discover their legacy.

Museum of Applied Arts (Budapest, Hungary)

Discover Hungary’s rich artistic heritage at Budapest's Museum of Applied Arts! Explore stunning collections of furniture, textiles, metalwork & glass in a breathtaking Art Nouveau masterpiece by Ödön Lechner. Ongoing renovations.

The front board is decorated with a finely curved, gilt network of tendrils that spring from the bottom stem and end in maple leaf-like ornaments. In the middle, there is a vellucent panel resembling the shape of a bud or flower blossom: a female figure with butterfly wings, standing on a globe and holding a peacock feather ornamented stick in each of her hands, in front of a double-bordered, and jointed, greenish-yellow background. The butterfly wings are enriched with mother-of-pearl inlays. The back board is without decoration, except for the line running along the edges. The title - THE TEMPEST - is on the spine, framed with tendrils. The doublures are bordered by double lines, with a circle on the middle of the sides that is repeated three times in the corners, enriched with a maple-leaf motif. The endpaper is red, the headband is sewn with red and yellow. The head edges are gilt and punched with flower tendril ornaments.