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Seán Keating PRHA HRA HRSA (1889-1977)
THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD by John Millington Synge
deluxe edition; (no. 321 from an edition of 1,000)
numbered on editions page
12.25 by 9.75in. (31.12 by 24.77cm)
A Comedy in Three Acts. With Ten Illustrations by Seán Keating RHA. London: George Allen, 1927. Edi-
tion de Luxe, one of 1,000 of which this is no. 321. 112 pages. Folio, bound in quarter cloth, pale green paper
boards. Title printed in black to upper cover and stamped in gilt on spine. Housed in original slightly dis-
tressed box with title label to cover. A fine example of a very handsome production of Synge’s masterpiece
with ten plates in colour by Keating, each with titled tissue-guards.
There is no evidence that Keating ever met John Millington Synge, but in 1917 the artist exhibited a painting
in the RHA titled The Outlandish Lovers, which was inspired by The Playboy of the Western World. Synge’s
nephew, known as ‘Hutchie’, approached Keating in 1922 with a commission to paint twelve illustrations for
a proposed deluxe volume of The Playboy of the Western World. In the event, ten of the twelve images were
published. The full set of paintings was to have been ready in 1926, but a delay on Keating’s part meant that
the book was finally published as a numbered series of one thousand copies in 1927
€500-€700 (£395-£553 approx.)
Large Image & Place Bid Lot 167