THE TOPMOST APPLE

AN ORIGINAL WOODCUT FROM THE VALE EDITION OF DAPHNIS AND CHLOE DESIGNED AND ENGRAVED ON THE WOOD BY CHARLES SHANNON

The wood engraving, an illustration of “Daphnis and Chloe,” is printed in golden brown ink within a portrait oriented rectangular double frame. Above the image, printed in the same ink, is typography in all caps, preceded by a fleuron: “Daphnis plucks from the topmost bough where the gatherers had forgotten it the topmost apple lest perchance falling it should be trodden into the purpose ground or bitten by the venomous lips of some serpent.” The typography is the same width as the image, beneath which is printed the title “Daphnis and Chloe” and the page number 75. Centred in the image is a barren tree in which Daphnis, perched on a high branch, reaches out for an apple while Chloe kneels at the base of the tree. Daphnis is nude, with long hair that cascades over his shoulder. From the ground, a single vine grows upward and is wrapped around the tree. Chloe kneels to the left of the tree, holding her face in her hands. She wears a long dress and shoes. In the far right foreground is a crumpled basket or cloth holding apples. Two blooming trees with leafy foliage frame either side of the central tree. An animal is half-hidden behind the right tree, with its rear visible. In the distant background are hills, with a shepherd and sheep in the distance. At the top of the image, two white birds, possibly doves, fly down towards the tree at the right.

MLA citation:

Shannon, Charles. “The Topmost Apple.” The Dial, vol. 3, 1893. Dial Digital Edition, edited by Lorraine Janzen Kooistra, 2019-2020. Yellow Nineties 2.0, Ryerson University Centre for Digital Humanities, 2020. https://1890s.ca/dialv3-shannon-apple-AH/

magazine_images The Dial 3 The Topmost Apple Charles Shannon 1893 Wood engraving Illustration Charles Shannon Greece (bushel) Basket and Apple Human Figure, Female Figure/ Woman, Male Figure/ Man, Mythological Figure, Person, Dress, and Shoes Classical Day, Outdoor setting, Outside, Exterior, Nature, Vine, Bird, Trees, Cattle, and Apple tree