[Wilde, Oscar]. Rodd, Rennell

8vo, EDITION DE LUXE, LIMITED TO 175 COPIES, thin transparent handmade paper interleaved throughout with a thin leaf of green tissue, printed in brown ink, Japanese head- and tailpieces, rebound in contemporary green morocco gilt, top edge gilt, housed in folding case and quarter blue cloth slipcase together with an autograph letter signed by Rennell Rodd (3 pages, Venice, "May 2"), slight wear to binding

Mason 242

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

James Rennell Rodd (1858-1941) was a contemporary of Wilde’s at Oxford, and was later to have a highly successful diplomatic career. In 1881 Rodd published a volume of verse entitled Songs in the South. The copy Rodd presented to Wilde included an Italian inscription of a curiously prophetic nature, which may be translated as "At your martyrdom the ravenous and vindictive crowd, whom you are addressing, will coalesce. They will mass to witness you on your cross, and not one will take pity on you."

During his visit to America in 1882 Wilde had the volume reprinted as Rose Leaf and Apple Leaf. Wilde provided an introduction, "L’Envoi" as he called it, and edited the book by removing two poems and inserting nine others by Rodd that were previously uncollected. Rodd took exception to some of Wilde'’s sentiments in the introduction, and was particularly irritated by the book'’s effusive new dedication, which was composed by Wilde himself: "To Oscar Wilde – "Heart’s Brother" – these few songs and many songs to come."

This edition was exceptionally well received on publication. Walter Hamilton in The Aesthetic Movement in England, 1882, admired both the book'’s "exquisite attire" and the text that was "most grateful to the reader’'s eyes." Rodd himself, despite misgivings about the altered text, admired the production. On 6 October he wrote to J.M. Stoddart the publisher informing him that he had "seen no édition de luxe in England to compare with it."

The edition was limited to 175 copies (Ellmann, p.188). It was priced at $1.75, but according to Stoddart (see Thomas Mosher'’s edition of 1906) the bookseller Brentano bought a number of copies and persuaded Wilde to autograph the upper covers. He proceeded to sell them on at almost double the original price. It seems likely that this is a "Brentano copy".

Wilde'’s 'L’Envoi', which reveals the increasing influence of Walter Pater’s ideas on his work, later took on a separate existence as 'The English Renaissance of Art'. It was published both as a limited edition essay and as part of later anthologies.

According to a pencil note the letter by Rodd is to Robert Louis Stevenson.