LE MORTE D'ARTHUR BY SIR THOMAS MALORY WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY AUBREY BEARDSLEYJM Dent & Co, 1893, Volume I & II, 1st edition, limited edition of 1500 unnumbered copies (not including the 300 on Dutch handmade paper), bound in original cream cloth, spines lettered in gilt, spines and front covers stamped in gilt with floral patterns designed by Beardsley, publisher's device to rear covers in gilt, top edges gilt, others untrimmed. With photogravure frontispieces, 18 full-page wood engravings with tissue guards, numerous text illustrations and approximately 350 designs for chapter headings and borders all by Aubrey Beardsley.PROVENANCE:Geoffrey Chapman Ingleton, SydneyGordon Page Barton, SydneyThence by descentLITERATURE:Lewis, J, "The Twentieth Century Book", p. 148-9OTHER NOTES:In 1892 John M. Dentmissioned the 20-year-old Beardsley to produce this edition, work that took the young artist 18 months toplete. The book was issued in 12 parts in wrappers, with the purchaser given the choice of sending it back to Dent, who bound them in vellum or (as in this case) cream cloth case-binding with gilt blocking designed by Beardsley.The current lot was part of the Angus & Robertson rare books collection (label inside front cover) and were personally purchased by the publisher of Angus & Robertson in the 1970s, Gordon Page Barton (1929-2005). Prior to this the books belonged to Geoffrey Chapman Ingleton (1908-1998) and were part of his collection, the Ingleton Catalogue (label inside front cover). Ingleton was a cartographer, author, artist, etcher, modeller, book collector and publisher. He acquired an enormous collection of books and periodicals, maps, photographs, 's log books and nautical charts.