Renowned British artist (1872–1898) who helped define the Art Nouveau style with his elegant, distinctively sensuous, often erotically charged drawings and illustrations. Three-volume set: The Works of Ben Jonson, with Critical and Explanatory Notes and a Memoir by William Gifford. “New edition.” London: Chatto & Windus, 1897. Hardcovers, 5.25 x 7.5, 463 + 587 + 530 pages plus ads. Signed three times in his tiny hand on the front free end page of Vol. I, “Aubrey Beardsley,” and signed on the title page of the same volume with a “normal” sized “Aubrey Beardsley 1898.” At the time of his death, Beardsley was working on illustrations for a new edition Jonson’s Volpone, published later in the same year. In fine condition, with signature “trio” slightly indistinct against dark endpapers, mild rubbing to covers, collector’s bookplate to inside front cover of Vol. I, a touch of soiling to edges, and scattered light foxing (including signed title page; not affecting legibility in the least). Uncommon in any format! R&R COA.
