Bidspirit auction | 1910 Joseph Bédier The Romance

1910 Joseph Bédier The Romance of Tristram and Iseult Illustrated by Maurice Lalau - A 1910 edition of The Romance of Tristram and Iseult by Joseph Bédier, translated from the French by Florence Simmonds. The volume is bound in olive green cloth featuring ornate gilt-stamped decorations. The front board displays a central circular gilt illustration of two intertwined birds below the title in a stylized Gothic-style font. The spine is elaborately decorated in gilt with medieval-inspired motifs, including a knight's helmet and a sword, and bears the names Joseph Bedier, Maurice Lalau, and J.B. Lippincott Co. The back board features a small blind-stamped circular medallion in the center. The title page reads THE ROMANCE OF TRISTRAM AND ISEULT BY JOSEPH BÉDIER TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY FLORENCE SIMMONDS ILLUSTRATED BY MAURICE LALAU PUBLISHED IN PHILADELPHIA BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY AND IN LONDON BY WILLIAM HEINEMANN MCMX. An interior page carries the printed text Printed in England. The book contains twenty color plates by Maurice Lalau, each tipped onto heavy gray paper mounts. Several plates feature a printed signature and date in the lower corners reading MAURICE LALAU 1908. The opening text page begins with a decorative initial letter S depicting a medieval figure holding a staff. The cloth binding shows moderate shelf wear consistent with age. The upper-left corner of the front board is bumped and frayed (photo 1). The spine shows significant fraying and loss of cloth at both the head and foot (photo 2). The gilt on the front board remains relatively bright, while the gilt on the spine exhibits darkening and rubbing (photo 2). Internally, the pages show age-related toning, particularly at the margins (photo 8). There is minor offsetting from the illustration mounts onto the adjacent text pages. The tipped-in color plates are well-preserved, though there is a small tear on the edge of one gray mounting sheet (photo 10).