<p>This study claims that scholars need to examine all twenty-seven English illustrated editions of Wilde&#39;s and Beardsley&#39;s <em>Salom&euml;</em> to understand whether Beardsley&#39;s compositions do, or do not, illustrate Wilde&#39;s words. For the last one hundred years scholars have addressed the aesthetic function of Beardsley&#39;s compositions (whether or not Beardsley&#39;s compositions illustrate Wilde&#39;s words), and each scholar sees something different: Beardsley&#39;s compositions are 'irrelevant' to Wilde&#39;s words; Beardsley&#39;s compositions are 'relevant' to Wilde&#39;s words; Beardsley&#39;s compositions are both 'irrelevant' and 'relevant.' What is at issue here is that this traditional dance of signification (scholars&#39; interpretations of the aesthetic function of Beardsley&#39;s compositions) relies upon an interpretive strategy that disavows the history of textual transmissions. To put this another way, what scholars 'see' depends upon the particular English illustrated edition(s) they read. Beardsley&#39;s compositions are physical objects conditioned by a physical setting--i.e., the components of total book design. Yet, for many, the visible appears invisible.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The motivation for this study arises from previously unexamined phenomena--the genesis and textual transmission of Beardsley&#39;s compositions for <em>Salom&euml;</em> (1894-1994). As historical textual scholarship, this study uses the methodologies central to descriptive bibliography: the English illustrated editions of Wilde&#39;s and Beardsley&#39;s <em>Salom&euml;</em> are treated as socially constructed physical objects. Binding, format, and paper are a few of the signifying systems described. Specifically, this investigation draws upon the model presented by Philip Gaskell in A New Introduction to Bibliography. The necessary tasks include: transcribing the title-page; analyzing the format; examining the appearance of the binding; detailing the kind of paper used; and noting other information, such as titles.</p><p>As the centenary of Wilde&#39;s and Beardsley&#39;s <em>Salom&euml;</em> commences, this is the opportune time to trace the publishing history of Beardsley&#39;s compositions, to update existing descriptive bibliographies, and to turn to an empirical method for a socialized model of literary production.</p>