Elixir of Life illustrated by Harry Clarke first edition 1925

CLARKE, Harry; WARREN, Geoffrey – Elixir of Life 
 
Dublin: John Jameson & Son Limited (1925)
 
8vo, original cloth backed boards, paper label to upper cover with a fleuron border; pp. xx; 5 full page illustrations and 4 vignettes printed in black, white and yellow; overall condition is very good.
 
A rare early work including dramatic illustrations from Harry Clarke. It was one of two promotional booklets issued by Irish whiskey distillers John Jameson, with the first title being ‘Irish Whiskey, a history of the great house’ published a year before. Clarke said in a letter to a friend about these promotional books “here is one of the books I did for Jameson – it was made in Dublin and if you ever had any experience of Dublin Printers you will know it was only produced with great difficulty”.
 
Despite his pains, the illustrations in this book are of high quality, for example of a doctor prescribing her patient Irish whiskey for a longer life and an illustration, called ‘Two distilleries on the same hill” that illustrates how two distillers using the same location, equipment and water supply could produce wildly different spirits. 
 
A rare book with only a handful of copies appearing at auction and only a few in institutions. [A7 Steenson].