Talk:Stops of Various Quills

The phrase "stops of various Quills" comes from John Milton's poem "Lycidas", written in 1637. Henry Pitz^[1][2] (1895-1976), illustrator and Howard Pyle biographer, describes this collaborative work as "a labor of love"—where the "great kinship" that existed between author and illustrator is evident in "both text and picture."^[3] Howells and Pyle both lost children early in the year 1889: Howells a daughter (Winifred), and Pyle a son (Sellers). Pitz relates how they "both suffered from interludes of melancholia" as a result—a term that you will find etched in illustrations on the pages of "November" and "Question."^[4]

1895 edition

See the scan index for this edition.
See page images at Wikimedia Commons.
View an edition at Archive.org.

1896 limited edition

According to a December 1895 issue of The Literary News (p. 359), an "édition de luxe" was published (with a publication date of 1896), "limited to fifty copies, each signed by Mr. Howells and Mr. Pyle, with illustrations printed in sepia, and the full-page illustrations on Japan proofs in black." This edition sold for $15.

Author/illustrator signatures from the 1896 "édition de luxe" (MDCCCXCVI on title page). Limited to 50 copies.

"Good Society." A page from the limited edition with illustrations printed in sepia.

References

1. Read a biography about illustrator Henry Clarence Pitz by his widow at www.fineoldart.com.
2. A previous owner bookplate of Henry Pitz.
3. Pitz, Henry C. Howard Pyle:Writer, illustrator, founder of the Brandywine School. (1975) p. 106.
4. Pitz, 198.