first edition
1920 · Vienna
by Pogány, Willy (illustrator); Wagner, Richard; Specht, Richard
Vienna: M. Munk, 1920. First edition of Hungarian illustrator Willy Pogány's second treatment of Richard Wagner's 1882 opera Parsifal, issued by Viennese art book publisher M. Munk, featuring different plates than Pogány's initial attempt at the subject in 1912. The story of the Arthurian knight Parsifal's quest for the Holy Grail was one of three Wagnerian operas illustrated by Pogány before the Great War, along with Tannhäuser and Lohengrin. Those editions featured Pogány's carefully integrated images, decorations, and lettering, "designed and illustrated from head to toe, each page a visual construct" (Menges, Willy Pogány Rediscovered). Unlike the London Parsifal of 1912, which recounted the opera's plot in detail, this Viennese version foregrounds Wagner's musical score and libretto text, with interpretive verse by Richard Specht. The reimagined and strikingly beautiful color lithographed plates reflect the improved four-color separation printing process, a technological innovation that visually defined the "Golden Age" of illustration. The international popularity of Pogány's Wagnerian imagery inspired a series of small-scale, affordably priced calendars featuring reproductions of the plates. English-language examples of the Tannhäuser calendar and the Parsifal calendar are included here, as companions to this 1920 Parsifal, with text in German. A compelling group of modern high spots of Wagnerian illustration. Three volumes: 1.) Parsifal, measuring 12 x 9.75 inches: [48]. Original color pictorial wrappers. Color pictorial title page, 12 color plates, 22 pages with color pictorial borders surrounding calligraphic text and musical notation, 12 pages of verse within decorative borders. Short scuff to upper wrapper, lower spine chipped. 2.) Tannhäuser Calendar for 1914, measuring 8.25 x 6 inches: [20]. Original color pictorial wrappers, 8 color plates. Disbound. 3.) Parsifal Calendar for 1916, measuring 8.25 x 6 inches: [20]. Original wrappers with color pictorial pastedown, 5 color plates in text. Disbound. All volumes laid into matching marbled chemises, and housed together in a custom clamshell box.
(Inventory #: 1003657)