The Ballad of Reading Gaol

New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc, 1928. First edition illustrated by John Vassos. Hardcover. Very good/very good. John Vassos. 124pp. Small quarto [24 cm] 1/2 black cloth over blue striped paper covered boards. The title is stamped in gilt on the backstrip, and there is an ornamental design stamped in black and gilt on the lower fore edge corner of the front board. With a slight lean to the spine, and mild bumping and fading at the extremities. Age-toned pages. The jacket has periodic short closed tears and chips in the edges, and there is a small loss from the paper at the foot of the jacket's spine, measuring 1" wide by 3/4" deep. Includes sixteen black and white illustrations (with tissue guards) by John Vassos. From the dust jacket- "Vassos' interpretation of Wilde's masterpiece, illustrating the emotional experiences of a condemned prisoner in his last days.