Recollections of Oscar Wilde

Charles Ricketts wrote this account of his close friendship with Oscar Wilde, partly as an imagined conversation with a fictitious French writer. Facsimile with afterword.

Recollections of Oscar Wilde is one of the most evocative and charming texts ever written about Wilde and the circles he moved in.

Charles Ricketts (1866-1931), painter, illustrator, theatrical designer and publisher, was one of Wilde’s closest friends; he also worked on stage productions and books with Wilde.

He later set up his own, hugely influential presses. Shortly before he died he finally wrote this account of his friendship with Wilde, partly as an imagined conversation with a fictitious French writer, Jean Paul Raymond.

The memoir was printed in 1932 at the Nonesuch Press by one of the great book designers of the following generation, Francis Meynell. Only 800 copies were published. This edition reproduces the original design exactly, including the spectacular gold and cream cover based by Ricketts on his work for Wilde’s Salomé.

An afterword by Matthew Sturgis puts the work in the context of the 1880’s and 1890’s and Wilde’s astonishing life.

Charles de Sousy Ricketts RA (2 October 1866 - 7 October 1931) was a British artist, illustrator, author and printer, known for his work as a book designer and typographer and for his costume and scenery designs for plays and operas. He lived and worked from his late teens until his death with the painter Charles Shannon.