Treasure Island (1994 Easton Press edition), illustrated by Edward A. Wilson, is a sumptuous collector’s iteration of Robert Louis Stevenson’s timeless pirate adventure, distinguished by Wilson’s mid-century modernist interpretation rather than the more familiar N.C. Wyeth paintings. This Easton Press volume, bound in rich navy leather with gold-tooled nautical motifs (anchors, sextants, and crossed cutlasses), features Wilson’s 1946 illustrations—originally commissioned for a limited edition—which reimagine Long John Silver and young Jim Hawkins with a moody, almost film-noir sensibility. Wilson’s 12 full-color plates, reproduced here on heavy archival paper, emphasize shadow and psychological tension over swashbuckling bravado: his Silver looms with calculating menace rather than theatrical flair, while the Hispaniola’s deck seems to tilt precariously under storm-lit skies.
(While the 1911 Scribner’s Wyeth edition remains the most iconic, this Easton Press version offers a sophisticated alternative for collectors seeking a darker, more psychological visual companion to Stevenson’s masterpiece.)
