Also sprach Zarathustra. Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen.

Large 4to (some min. offsetting to the 1st orn. ff., sm. ink stains on a limin. f.).

Binding designed by Henry van de Velde: stiff parchment with yapp edges (upper cover sl. toned, upper edge somewhat used), large gilt ornament on front cover, gilt orn. and titled flat spine (joints locally rubbed to split). In a later grey cloth box (upper cover sl. stained).

Impressive edition commissioned by Count Harry Kessler, a German patron of the arts and Nietzsche admirer. Ornamented by Henry van de Velde and printed with specially designed types by Georges Lemmen. Ornaments printed in purple and gold, typography in black and gold. Edition limited to 530 numbered copies. One of the 430 bound in parchment (n. 269). With its splendid architectural layout, "Also sprach Zarathustra is [van de Velde's] most monumental book design, very different in character from his slender Belgian volumes of the Nineties, but created with similar abstract elements. The full-page designs are bold and dynamic, dramatically printed in deep reddish-purple and gold. Contrasting with these forceful pages are the typographic ones, with van de Velde's small gold designs forming a geometric framework for Lemmen's type, which was produced under Kessler's supervision" (The Turn of the Century). According to Fernand Baudin: "[cet ouvrage] reflète admirablement jusqu'où van de Velde s'inspire de W. Morris et en quoi il s'en écarte. Il le suit jusqu'à concevoir le livre comme une unité architectonique, jusqu'à observer ses prescriptions typographiques, jusqu'à dessiner lui-même tous les ornements. Les gardes et le titre en débordent comme chez Morris. Il s'en écarte en se détournant du passé, en rénovant de fond en comble le répertoire des formes".
Ref. Henry van de Velde in de collecties van de KBR, 1993: 83. - The Turn of the Century: 115. - Art Nouveau Belgique, Cat. Europalia, 1980-81, pp. 198 sq. - Réserve précieuse, Bruxelles, KBR, 1962, notice of F. Baudin.