Death penalty IRISH POETRY horrors of prison life VTG Book ART DECO ILLUS HCDJ

  

The Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde 1930. John Vassos Art Deco Illustrations Hardcover with dust jacket. This Edition of the Ballad of Reading Gaol comes with beautiful art-deco full-page designs by the famous designer John Vassos. The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a deeply moving poem on the horrors of prison life composed by Oscar Wilde while he was in exile in France; after his release from prison in Reading, Berkshire (England) where he had been incarcerated after being convicted of homosexual offenses in 1895. The Ballad of Reading Gaol is Wilde's critique of the cruelty of the system and the degrading nature of incarceration.

It is a heartbreaking depiction of the losses, betrayals, and tragedies that all men suffer in their lifetime. This poem is Oscar Wilde's most successful and his last major work about the attitudes and laws regarding homosexuality, written before his death in 1900.

Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. He was a spokesman for the late 19th-century Aesthetic movement in England, which advocated art for art's sake, and he was the object of celebrated civil and criminal suits involving homosexuality and ending in his imprisonment (1895-97).

There he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol. He died from meningitis at age 46. Vassos was born John Vassacopoulos, in Romania to Greek parents, attended Robert College in Turkey, and joined the British Fleet to serve in World War I. He immigrated to Boston in 1919, where he washed windows and studied art and illustration with John Singer Sargent at the Fenway Art School. In 1924, he moved to New York City where he studied at the Art Students League under John Sloan.

Vassos began his career as an illustrator for various magazines, in addition to writing, illustrating, and publishing over fourteen books. He died in 1985 in Norwalk, Connecticut. CONDITION : This book is in good condition. Pages are clean & unmarked.

It has unopened leaves/uncut pages which is pretty good indication that the book wasn't read when it was new. Pages have turned yellow from age. The dust jacket, however, is scuffed, torn, chipped, brittle, and ripped but it will come with a clear cover to protect it from further damage. THE PICTURES ARE TO BE CONSIDERED AS PART OF THE DESCRIPTION. PLEASE REVIEW THEM FOR A BETTER IDEA OF CONDITION.