Held (Julius S.), 1905-2002

(25.5 cm), 33 (9), [25] leaves of plates (figs.1-50). Errata slip tipped to p.[35]. Publisher’s vellum-backed green paper boards, spine lettered in gilt. - An essay discussing Rembrandt’s attraction to subjects from the Book of Tobit and obsession with themes of blindness (Tobit, Belisarius, Homer) and filial duty. Held believed that a drawing in the Ashmolean Museum (Benesch 64) with the caption ‘Harman Gerrits van der Rhijn’ written in Rembrandt’s hand shows Rembrandt’s father afflicted with blindness at the end of his life. Were this the case, Rembrandt’s numerous illustrations from the Book of Tobit become a form of personal testimony. 1000 copies printed by Harold McGrath at the Gehenna Press, with 50 plates by Meriden Gravure. Trade issue (25 copies were bound at the Harcourt Bindery in half-leather). Robert H. Cornell, Leonard Baskin: The Northampton Years (Springfield, MA 1977), B.3. ¶ This copy numbered 184. Fine, unmarked copy.