The Pageant. MDCCCXCVI, edited by Charles Hazelwood Shannon and J.W. Gleeson White, was issued by the young London firm of Henry & Co. in December 1895. Advertisements were published in several newspapers and weekly magazines, such as The Academy and The Athenaeum (30 November 1895), The Publishers' Circular (14 December 1895), and The Times (18 December 1895).
Earlier, there may have been a prospectus, as several papers quote the publisher's announcement of The Pageant. Early announcements were published in De Kroniek, a Dutch magazine (6 October 1895), Pall Mall Gazette (8 October 1895), and others.
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| Börsenblatt (2 November 1895) |
An almost full-page advertisement in German appeared in the magazine for German bookshops and publishers, Börsenblatt für den Deutschen Buchhandel und die verwandten Geschäftszweige on 2 November 1895. [For a digital image see the website SLUB Dresden.]
The firm of Henry & Co. introduces itself as the German publisher of Richard Muther's Geschichte der Malerei (published by Henry & Co in 1895 as The History of Modern Painting) and the collected works of Nietzsche.
Next, The Pageant is promoted as a Christmas gift book and the execution is praised as 'in the best style', while the content is of supreme artistic and literary quality. A complete list of the contributions follows. About the binding it is said:
The Pageant ist gebunden in einen von C. RICKETTS, dem preciösesten Buchkünstlern, entworfenen Band.
(Translation: The Pageant is bound after a design by C. RICKETTS, the most exquisite book artist.)
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| Börsenblatt (2 November 1895), p. 6189. |
The deluxe edition is mentioned, followed by some business announcements on discounts for pre-order or back-order.
Henry & Co report that they can quickly export English-language works to Germany (there is an ‘Export-Department’) and show interest in German works that can be translated (excluding novels).
I have not found similar ads in other foreign magazines - not even in Dutch newspapers, while some of the publishers at Henry & Co. were Dutchmen. However, J.T. Grein (one of them) wrote a long 'review' for a newspaper: '"The Pageant", een kunstwerk' (An Art Work) [Algemeen Handelsblad, 19 december 1895].
