ALBERTO SANGORSKI
While a Prisoner and Other Early English Poems, by James I, Geoffrey Chaucer, and Sir Walter Raleigh, in English, illuminated manuscript on paper [England, London, c. 1930]

A standout example of modern book illumination by the leading illuminator of the twentieth century, Alberto Sangorski.

23 leaves on heavy wove paper with thinner blank interleaves and silk guards inserted as spacers, paginated 1–31 [collation: single leaves mounted in modern guard binding], texts in single column of varying lengths, written in a revivalist Gothic textura script, two half-borders, three three-quarter borders, and ten full-page borders enclosing script with burnished gold frames and cusped inner margins, inhabited by finely patined scrolling acanthus and foliate ornament in blue, green, and rose with white tracery and gold stippling, THIRTEEN LARGE ILLUMINATED INITIALS, on gold ground with desne vine-scroll infill and foliate ornament, SIX QUARTER- AND HALF-PAGE VIGNETTES in gold frames and FOUR FULL-PAGE MINIATURES emulating pre-Raphaelite and pastoralist style, ILLUMINATED TITLE PAGE featuring a vignette of the Tower of London and a border with knights on chargers, as well as pages with miniatures separated by silk guards, others separated by paper inleaves. Bound in rose-brown crushed morocco, gilt, inlaid, and bejewelled, covers framed by multiple plain and dotted gilt rules, sprays of tulips at corners, central panel of upper cover with animated floral design of onlaid white morocco flowers, each set with a petite rose-cut gems, and of onlaid lilac and green morocco thistles, all on a stippled ground, raised bands, spine compartments with spray of onlaid purple morocco berries, green morocco label, turn-ins framed with gilt ribbon roll and other decorative rolls, ivory watered silk endleaves, all edges gilt, front turn-in stamped in gilt “Made in England.” In the original black pebble-grain morocco case, with cushioned velvet lining (upper cover detached), leather with very slight variations in hue, otherwise the volume is in pristine condition. Dimensions 268 mm × 190 mm,

Provenance
(1) Written and illuminated in London by Alberto Sangorski.

(2) Parke-Bernet, New York, Rare First Editions of English and American Authors, Autograph Letters, and Manuscripts, 1947.

(3) Private Collection.

Text
p. 1, title page; pp. 3–4, biography of James I of Scotland; pp. 5–6, note on the imprisonment of James I by the English chronicler John Stow (1525–1605); pp. 9–14, “While a Prisoner” by James I of Scotland; pp. 15–16, biography of Geoffrey Chaucer; pp. 19–23, “Merciless Beauty” by Geoffrey Chaucer; pp. 25–26, biography of Sir Walter Raleigh; pp. 27–29, “The Nymph’s Reply,” by Sir Walter Raleigh; p. 33, endmatter.

Illumination
This finely bound and exceptionally attractive modern illuminated manuscript celebrates the tradition of English poetry through the work of the twentieth century’s preeminent illuminator, Alberto Sangorski. The manuscript comprises three early English poems, “While a Prisoner” by James I of Scotland, “Merciless Beauty” by Geoffrey Chaucer, and “The Nymph’s Reply” by Sir Walter Raleigh, each followed by a concise biographical notice. The decorative program is particularly rich, comprising numerous illuminated initials and elaborately tooled borders, alongside six vignettes and four full-page miniatures. Throughout, Sangorski’s hallmark features are fully evident: intricate interlace and knotwork, refined gilt tooling, and calligraphy of exceptional precision.

Sangorski remains among the most celebrated illuminators and calligraphers of the modern era, with works preserved in major institutional collections including the Folger Shakespeare Library, Princeton University Library, and the British Library, as well as numerous private collections. Largely self-taught, he began his career as a secretary in a goldsmith’s firm before turning to the book arts relatively late in life, joining the distinguished binding workshop Sangorski & Sutcliffe founded by his brother Francis. Following a professional rupture around 1910, he entered the employ of the rival firm Rivière & Son. His early output includes works such as Of Gardens after Francis Bacon and illuminated versions of the Rubáiyát, followed by a group of Lady of Shalott manuscripts (1908–09) and later major commissions, including Romeo and Juliet (1913).

In the years following the First World War, the market for elaborate illuminated manuscripts declined, prompting Sangorski to work independently. This later phase of his career, arguably the most refined, produced a series of highly accomplished manuscripts, typically executed in very limited numbers and without printed counterparts, ensuring their uniqueness. The present manuscript, datable to circa 1930, belongs to this mature period and reflects the artist at the height of his powers. The binding, stamped “Made in England,” remains unattributed; however, its design and execution suggest familiarity with the aesthetic and technical practices of both Sangorski’s familial workshop and Rivière, raising the possibility that the binder was trained within one of these circles.

The subjects of the miniatures, vignettes, and historiated initials are as follows: p. 1, quarter-page vignette of the Tower of London, with border decoration inhabited by two knights jousting; p. 4, heraldic emblem of James I of Scotland; p. 7, full-page miniature of a woman holding a book, wandering through a garden with a dog, observed by a man from a window; p. 15, portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer in an historiated initial ‘G’; p. 17, full-page miniature of a woman in a red bodice; p. 23, half-page pastoral vignette of a man with a walking stick in the countryside, accompanied by an historiated initial ‘M’ enclosing a deer running through a forest; p. 25, small portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh; p. 27, half-page pastoral vignette of a woman carrying a basket on her head, gazing into a sheep pasture; p. 31, full-page miniature of a woman with two children and a dog seated on a fence, with a country house in the distance.

LITERATURE
Unpublished; Related literature: Stephen J. Ratcliffe, “Cover Note,” Princeton University Library Chronicle 74, no. 2 (2013), pp. 263–71; Stephen Ratcliffe, “Sangorski & Sutcliffe” Fine Books & Collections (Winter 2014); Robert Shepherd, The Cinderella of the Arts: A Short History of Sangorski & Sutcliffe, New Castle (DE), 2015.

We thank Senior Consultant Sandra Hindman and Peter Bovenmyer for their assistance in preparing this sale.

This lot is located in Chicago.

ALBERTO SANGORSKI While a Prisoner and Other Early English Poems, by James I, Geoffrey Chaucer, and Sir Walter Raleigh, in English, illuminated manuscript on paper [England, London, c. 1930]

ALBERTO SANGORSKI
While a Prisoner and Other Early English Poems, by James I, Geoffrey Chaucer, and Sir Walter Raleigh, in English, illuminated manuscript on paper [England, London, c. 1930]