Phantastes, 1894, London, Chatto & Windus, First Edition
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Hailed as the “Suppressed Edition” in the GMD corpus of titles, this offering is excessively rare to find, and for good reason! Greville MacDonald, GMD's oldest son, essentially eliminated the press run of his father's 1858 adult fantasy. Chatto & Windus produced this 1894 edition of Phantastes without George or Louisa's knowledge and permission. James Bell was commissioned to execute several paintings to illustrate this story; he was apparently an in-house staff artist, about whom very little is known. When the family was presented with this edition, Louisa reacted in horror, condemning the drawings as unacceptable. She commissioned Greville to then retrieve the press run and have them destroyed. Obviously, some got away, but he did manage to snag most of the copies. Hence, copies are nearly impossible to find in any condition. This survivor has been very loved, but is still in readable condition, although a bit rubbed and handled. Entirely intact, with the binding relatively healthy! Rare!