The 'Fables' of John Gay (1685-1732)

PaRo Imagini is proposing to publish an illustrated series of the 'Fables' of the poet, John Gay. Each of the fables will be presented in the form of a 6-page (3- leaf) folder, with a pocketed illustration, and will be produced in a limited edition of fifty.

The first volume of Gay's 'Fables', comprising fifty-one poems, was published in 1727, and was dedicated to then six years old Duke of Cumberland. It had illustrations by William Kent and John Wooton. An additional sixteen fables were published posthumously in 1735. The poems were hugely popular throughout the eighteenth century, with more than three hundred editions recorded. Later illustrators included Thomas Bewick and William Blake.

PaRo Imagini will initially be offering a set of five of the fables, consisting of: 'The Butterfly and the Snail': 'The Monkey who had travelled and seen the World': 'The two Owls and the Sparrow': 'The Council of Horses': and 'The Elephant and the Bookseller'.

The first two of these were shown at the London Artists Book Fair in November 2007 and received much public admiration. It is intended to offer the first set of five for sale in February 2008. The folders ( page size: 320 x 230 mm, landscape) consist of 2mm board, cloth bound. Text and illustrations are inkjet printed on fine art quality paper. Illustrations are by Paola Pliatsikas*, and Robert Neal has edited the texts and added a brief commentary.

*Please see pages Fable 1 and Fable 2 of this website.