RACKHAM, Arthur, illustrator; BARRIE, J.M.

The Fairies Sit Round on Mushrooms, and at First They Are Well Behaved

London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1912. The Largest Rackham Plates Ever Printed [RACKHAM, Arthur]. BARRIE, J.M. "The fairies sit round on mushrooms, and at first they are well behaved" A single plate from The Peter Pan Portfolio, by Arthur Rackham, from "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens," by J.M. Barrie. London: Hodder & Stoughton, [n.d. 1912]. Handsomely framed and glazed in the original mount. Image size 12 5/8 x 9 inches; 321 x 229 mm. Frame size 21 x 17 1/4 inches; 535 x 438 mm. The Peter Pan Portfolio was limited to 600 copies published in 1912, and contained 12 of Rackham's favorite drawings from his 1906 edition of Peter pan in Kensington Gardens, which had 50 color plates. The Portfolio plates are approximately 60% larger than their 1906 counterparts. Greatly enlarged from their earlier appearance, these plates are considered to be Rackham's personal favorites from the fifty that appeared in his 1906 illustrated trade edition of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. Latimore and Haskell, p. 39. Riall, p. 113. .

David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)Professional seller

Book number: 05056

Catalogue: English Literature

Keywords: BARRIE, J.M. Children's Books Illustrated Books Fairies

RACKHAM, Arthur; Ruskin, John

King of the Golden River, the

London: George Harrap & Co. 1932. The First English Fairy Story for Children" The First Trade Edition Illustrated by Arthur Rackham [RACKHAM, Arthur, illustrator]. RUSKIN, John. The King of the Golden River. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. London: George Harrap & Co. [1932]. First trade edition. Octavo (8 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches; 222 x 146 mm.). 47, [1] pp. Four color plates and fifteen drawings in black and white. Original color pictorial wrappers. Pictorial endpapers in green and white. Covers a little bit foxed. A very good copy. In the original color pictorial dust jacket with spine mildly soiled. John Ruskin (1819-1900), "English author and artist, whose The King of the Golden River might be regarded as the first English fairy story for children. Though it was not published until 1851, seven years after Francis Paget's The Hope of the Katzekopfs, it was in fact written in 1841 for 12-year-old Effie Gray, whom he later married. It is a story of the three brothers of tradition, two bad, the youngest good, and their reception of a supernatural visitor, the South West Wind. Ruskin described it himself as ‘a fairly good imitation of Grimm and Dickens, mixed with some true Alpine feeling of my own', but the South West Wind is a powerful and original character, described by Stephen Prickett [in Victorian Fantasy (1979)] as the ‘first magical personage to show that combination of kindliness and eccentric irascibility that was to appear so strongly in a whole tradition of subsequent literature'. Richard Doyle, who illustrated the original edition, made a striking drawing of him. Edgar Taylor's translation of the Grimms' stories with illustrations by George Cruikshank was published in 1823; in Praeterita Ruskin recorded how he had copied these when he was 10 or 11. The book was reissued in 1868 with an introduction by Ruskin in which he spoke of the value of the traditional tales, with their power ‘to fortify children against the glacial cold of selfish science'—a sentiment which lies at the heart of his own story" (The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales). Latimore and Haskell, p. 67. Riall, p. 176. .

David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)Professional seller

Book number: 00865

Catalogue: English Literature

Keywords: Ruskin, John Children's Books English Literature Illustrated Books Children's Books Illustrated Books Literature Nineteenth-Century Literature

RACKHAM, Arthur; Ruskin, John

King of the Golden River, the

London: George Harrap & Co. 1932. One of 575 Copies Signed by Arthur Rackham [RACKHAM, Arthur, illustrator]. RUSKIN, John. The King of the Golden River. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. London: George Harrap & Co. [1932]. One of 575 copies signed by Arthur Rackham, this being copy No. 521. Octavo (8 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches; 222 x 146 mm.). 47, [1] pp. Four color plates and fifteen drawings in black and white. Original limp vellum. Pictorial endpapers in green and white. Top edge gilt, others uncut. A near fine, partially uncut copy. Housed in the original (slightly worn) slipcase with matching limitation number to spine. John Ruskin (1819-1900), "English author and artist, whose The King of the Golden River might be regarded as the first English fairy story for children. Though it was not published until 1851, seven years after Francis Paget's The Hope of the Katzekopfs, it was in fact written in 1841 for 12-year-old Effie Gray, whom he later married. It is a story of the three brothers of tradition, two bad, the youngest good, and their reception of a supernatural visitor, the South West Wind. Ruskin described it himself as ‘a fairly good imitation of Grimm and Dickens, mixed with some true Alpine feeling of my own', but the South West Wind is a powerful and original character, described by Stephen Prickett [in Victorian Fantasy (1979)] as the ‘first magical personage to show that combination of kindliness and eccentric irascibility that was to appear so strongly in a whole tradition of subsequent literature'. Richard Doyle, who illustrated the original edition, made a striking drawing of him. Edgar Taylor's translation of the Grimms' stories with illustrations by George Cruikshank was published in 1823; in Praeterita Ruskin recorded how he had copied these when he was 10 or 11. The book was reissued in 1868 with an introduction by Ruskin in which he spoke of the value of the traditional tales, with their power ‘to fortify children against the glacial cold of selfish science'—a sentiment which lies at the heart of his own story" (The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales). Latimore and Haskell, p. 67. Riall, p. 176. .

David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)Professional seller

Book number: 03771

Catalogue: English Literature

Keywords: Ruskin, John Children's Books English Literature Illustrated Books Children's Books Illustrated Books Signed Limited Edition

RACKHAM, Arthur; Ruskin, John

King of the Golden River, the

Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co. 1932. The First American Trade Edition [RACKHAM, Arthur, illustrator]. RUSKIN, John. The King of the Golden River. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co. n.d. [1932]. First American trade edition. Octavo (8 5/8 x 5 3/4 inches; 220 x 147 mm.). 47, [1] pp. With four color plates and fifteen black and white drawings. Publisher's reddish orange cloth with color pictorial label to front cover. Pictorial end-papers. An excellent copy in the original slightly chipped color pictorial dust jacket. John Ruskin (1819-1900), "English author and artist, whose The King of the Golden River might be regarded as the first English fairy story for children. Though it was not published until 1851, seven years after Francis Paget's The Hope of the Katzekopfs, it was in fact written in 1841 for 12-year-old Effie Gray, whom he later married. It is a story of the three brothers of tradition, two bad, the youngest good, and their reception of a supernatural visitor, the South West Wind. Ruskin described it himself as ‘a fairly good imitation of Grimm and Dickens, mixed with some true Alpine feeling of my own', but the South West Wind is a powerful and original character, described by Stephen Prickett [in Victorian Fantasy (1979)] as the ‘first magical personage to show that combination of kindliness and eccentric irascibility that was to appear so strongly in a whole tradition of subsequent literature'. Richard Doyle, who illustrated the original edition, made a striking drawing of him. Edgar Taylor's translation of the Grimms' stories with illustrations by George Cruikshank was published in 1823; in Praeterita Ruskin recorded how he had copied these when he was 10 or 11. The book was reissued in 1868 with an introduction by Ruskin in which he spoke of the value of the traditional tales, with their power ‘to fortify children against the glacial cold of selfish science'—a sentiment which lies at the heart of his own story" (The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales). Latimore and Haskell pp. 71, Riall p. 176, Gettings pp. 180-181. .

David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)Professional seller

Book number: 03906

Catalogue: English Literature

Keywords: Ruskin, John Children's Books Illustrated Books Fairy Tales

RACKHAM, Arthur; Ruskin, John

King of the Golden River, the

London: George Harrap & Co. 1932. One of 575 Copies Signed by Arthur Rackham [RACKHAM, Arthur, illustrator]. RUSKIN, John. The King of the Golden River. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. London: George Harrap & Co. [1932]. One of 575 copies signed by Arthur Rackham, this being copy No. 385. Octavo (8 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches; 222 x 146 mm.). 47, [1] pp. Four color plates and fifteen drawings in black and white. Original limp vellum. Pictorial endpapers in green and white. Top edge gilt, others uncut. Covers very lightly dust-soiled, otherwise a fine copy. Chemised in a green cloth slipcase with red morocco gilt lettering label. John Ruskin (1819-1900), "English author and artist, whose The King of the Golden River might be regarded as the first English fairy story for children. Though it was not published until 1851, seven years after Francis Paget's The Hope of the Katzekopfs, it was in fact written in 1841 for 12-year-old Effie Gray, whom he later married. It is a story of the three brothers of tradition, two bad, the youngest good, and their reception of a supernatural visitor, the South West Wind. Ruskin described it himself as ‘a fairly good imitation of Grimm and Dickens, mixed with some true Alpine feeling of my own', but the South West Wind is a powerful and original character, described by Stephen Prickett [in Victorian Fantasy (1979)] as the ‘first magical personage to show that combination of kindliness and eccentric irascibility that was to appear so strongly in a whole tradition of subsequent literature'. Richard Doyle, who illustrated the original edition, made a striking drawing of him. Edgar Taylor's translation of the Grimms' stories with illustrations by George Cruikshank was published in 1823; in Praeterita Ruskin recorded how he had copied these when he was 10 or 11. The book was reissued in 1868 with an introduction by Ruskin in which he spoke of the value of the traditional tales, with their power ‘to fortify children against the glacial cold of selfish science'—a sentiment which lies at the heart of his own story" (The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales). Latimore and Haskell, p. 67. Riall, p. 176. .

David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)Professional seller

Book number: 03912

Catalogue: English Literature

Keywords: Ruskin, John Children's Books English Literature Illustrated Books Children's Books Illustrated Books Fairy Tales Signed Limited Edition

RACKHAM, Arthur; Ruskin, John

King of the Golden River, the

London: George Harrap & Co. 1932. One of 575 Copies Signed by Arthur Rackham [RACKHAM, Arthur, illustrator]. RUSKIN, John. The King of the Golden River. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. London: George Harrap & Co. [1932]. One of 575 copies signed by Arthur Rackham, this being copy No. 472. Octavo (8 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches; 222 x 146 mm.). 47, [1] pp. Four color plates and fifteen drawings in black and white. Original limp vellum. Pictorial endpapers in green and white. Top edge gilt, others uncut. A few text leaves roughly opened, small inoffensive stains on endpapers. A very good copy. Housed in a green cloth clamshell case. John Ruskin (1819-1900), "English author and artist, whose The King of the Golden River might be regarded as the first English fairy story for children. Though it was not published until 1851, seven years after Francis Paget's The Hope of the Katzekopfs, it was in fact written in 1841 for 12-year-old Effie Gray, whom he later married. It is a story of the three brothers of tradition, two bad, the youngest good, and their reception of a supernatural visitor, the South West Wind. Ruskin described it himself as ‘a fairly good imitation of Grimm and Dickens, mixed with some true Alpine feeling of my own', but the South West Wind is a powerful and original character, described by Stephen Prickett [in Victorian Fantasy (1979)] as the ‘first magical personage to show that combination of kindliness and eccentric irascibility that was to appear so strongly in a whole tradition of subsequent literature'. Richard Doyle, who illustrated the original edition, made a striking drawing of him. Edgar Taylor's translation of the Grimms' stories with illustrations by George Cruikshank was published in 1823; in Praeterita Ruskin recorded how he had copied these when he was 10 or 11. The book was reissued in 1868 with an introduction by Ruskin in which he spoke of the value of the traditional tales, with their power ‘to fortify children against the glacial cold of selfish science'—a sentiment which lies at the heart of his own story" (The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales). Latimore and Haskell, p. 67. Riall, p. 176. .

David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)Professional seller

Book number: 04065

Catalogue: English Literature

Keywords: Ruskin, John Children's Books English Literature Illustrated Books Children's Books Illustrated Books Fairy Tales Signed Limited Edition

RACKHAM, Arthur; Shakespeare, William

Midsummer-Night's Dream, A.

London: William Heinemann, 1908. An Almost Perfect Setting for Rackham's Devic Imagination" Edition de Luxe Signed by Arthur Rackham [RACKHAM, Arthur, illustrator]. SHAKESPEARE, William. A Midsummer-Night's Dream. With Illustrations by Arthur Rackham. London: William Heinemann, 1908. Edition de Luxe, limited to 1,000 numbered copies signed by the artist, this being copy No. 926. Large quarto (11 1/2 x 9 1/16 inches; 292 x 231 mm.). [6], 134, [1, blank], [1, printer's slug] pp. Forty color plates mounted on brown art paper, with descriptive tissue guards. Original vellum over boards pictorially stamped and lettered in gilt. Top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Later silk ties. Bookplate of Agnes Marion Armitage. A bit of mild toning to vellum at edges. Spine a little 'mottled'. Still an excellent copy. "Within twelve months appeared Shakespeare's A Midsummer-Night's Dream, De la Motte Fouqué's Undine, and the Grimm brothers' Fairy Tales, all very different in quality and feeling, as demanded by the texts, but all of extremely high quality. The Dream was, of course, an almost perfect setting for Rackham's devic imagination -- perhaps only bettered by the opportunity of The Tempest -- with the result that some of the fairies, elves and goblins he created for this play are among his finest colour images, and almost all the plates echo perfectly the mysterious interweaving of lightness and depth in this great work. Many of the formal plates are exquisite, whether they depict the principal events of the main theme of the story, such as the translated Bottom with his ass-head mocked by tree sprites, or the night-rule of Titania's haunted grove, those incidents within the subsidiary action, with details hardly dreamed of by Shakespeare, such as the gnomish knife-grinder in a motley group of fairies. Some of the floriated headings for the Dream are the finest of Rackham's line at the time, as for example the heading vignette for Act One, Scene One, which with typical Rackham irrelevance spreads its tendrils over the page, and into the text, ignoring the fact that the setting is supposed, according to Shakespeare, to be the Palace of Theseus, and throwing us immediately into a tangle-wood Rackhamerie, with mice, pixies and a sleeping maiden." (Fred Gettings. Arthur Rackham, pp. 117-123). Latimore and Haskell, p. 32. Gettings, p. 177. Riall, p. 87. .

David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)Professional seller

Book number: 01984

Catalogue: English Literature

Keywords: Shakespeare, William English Literature Plays Illustrated Books Signed Limited Edition Sixteenth-Century Literature Children's Books Illustrated Books Fairies Plays

RACKHAM, Arthur; SHAKESPEARE, William

Midsummer-Night's Dream, A.

New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1939. The Final Book Published During Rackham's Lifetime [RACKHAM, Arthur, illustrator]. SHAKESPEARE, William. A Midsummer-Night's Dream. The Text of the First Folio, with Quarto Insertions, Edited and Amended Where Obscure by Herbert Farjeon. Illustrated from Water-colors by Arthur Rackham. New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1939. Deluxe edition limited to 1,950 copies of which this is no. 1306. Folio (12 7/8 x 8 3/4 inches; 328 x 223 mm.). Six color lithographed plates. With LEC Subscriber's Letter for this volume laid-in at front. Designed by Bruce Rogers. Publishers quarter tan buckram over decorative paper boards. Top edge gilt, others untrimmed. A near fine copy. "The illustrations for this play were made by one of the world's most famous illustrators, that Englishman Mr. Arthur Rackham. He has been for years one of the most prolific of the world's illustrators, and one of the most admired. He is now seventy-two years old, having being born in London in 1867.. Mr. Rackham's Illustrations for this play were made in watercolor. They are full of fancy and fantasy, and they are, as in each of Mr. Rackham's pictures, engaging to the eye, pretty to look upon." (The Limited Editions Club Shakespeare Commentary). The final book published during Rackham's lifetime. "This is one of the 37 volumes of the set of the works of Shakespeare, each illustrated by a different artist, produced for members of the Limited Editions Club in 1939-40." (Riall) Bruce Rogers (1870 - 1957) was an American typographer and type designer, acclaimed by some as among the greatest book designers of the twentieth century. Rogers was known for his "classical" style of design, rejecting modernism, never using asymmetrical arrangements, rarely using sans serif type faces, favoring stolid roman faces such as Caslon and his own Centaur. .

David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)Professional seller

Book number: 02727

Catalogue: English Literature

Keywords: SHAKESPEARE, William English Literature Plays Illustrated Books Sixteenth-Century Literature Illustrated Books Fine Printing Plays Signed Limited Edition

RACKHAM, Arthur; DRURY, W.P.

Peradventures of Private Pagett, the

London: Chapman and Hall, 1904. Tell it to the Marines" A Near Fine Copy in the Original Pictorial Dust Jacket With Eight Half-Tone Plates by Arthur Rackham [RACKHAM, Arthur]. DRURY, Major W.P. The Peradventures of Private Pagett. With Eight Illustrations by Arthur Rackham. London: Chapman and Hall, 1904. First edition. Octavo. (7 5/16 x 4 13/16 inches; 185 x 122 mm). [12], 242, [2] pp. Eight half-tone plates by Rackham. Publisher's orange-red cloth pictorially stamped and lettered in black on front cover and spine. Minimal rubbing to extremities, light marginal foxing throughout. Complete with the very scarce publisher's light gray pictorial dust jacket. A near fine copy - the first in dust jacket that we have ever seen. "There is nothing serious about the stories of Mr. Pagett, ex-private of Marines, and some of them are very amusing. The most entertaining in the book is the account of "The Lower-Deck Tantum Club," (pp. 97-127) which spread confusion through the whole of Malta by driving a " single- horse " tandem pell-mell through the island. People who like comic sketches dealing with both "Services" (Private Pagett was "soldier and sailor too"), and who are not wearied by the account of the hero's perpetual drunkenness, will be amused by this short collection of stories of land and sea. (The Spectator Archive). Lieutenant-Colonel William Price Drury CBE (1861-1949) was a Royal Marine Light Infantry officer, novelist, playwright, and Mayor of Saltash from 1929 to 1931. Drury was the author of a range of plays and novels, many with naval themes. He wrote The Peradventures of Private Pagett in 1904. Perhaps his best known play The Flag Lieutenant (1908) was filmed three times: twice as a silent film - in 1919 by Percy Nash and in 1926 by Maurice Elvey - and then again for sound in 1932 by Henry Edwards. The Further Adventures of the Flag Lieutenant was also filmed in 1927, after the huge success of Elvey's adaptation. The preface of Drury's collection The Tadpole of an Archangel (1898) helped to popularize the expression 'Tell it to the Marines.' Drury attributed the phrase to Charles II reporting that the King made the remark to Samuel Pepys. Drury later admitted the attribution was a fabrication. Drury also wrote a poem entitled The Dead Marines in tribute to the Royal Marines after the Duke of Clarence supposedly called empty alcohol bottles "Dead Marines". The Royal Marines Barracks at Stonehouse, Plymouth have a Drury Room containing his desk and memorabilia. Riall, p. 61; Latimore and Haskell p. 23. .

David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)Professional seller

Book number: 04021

Catalogue: English Literature

Keywords: DRURY, W.P. Children's Books Illustrated Books Literature

RACKHAM, Arthur, illustrator; BARRIE, J.M.

Peter Screamed out, 'Do It Again!' and with Great Good-Nature They Did It Several Times

London : Hodder & Stoughton, 1912. The Largest Rackham Plates Ever Printed [RACKHAM, Arthur]. BARRIE, J.M. "Peter screamed out, 'Do it again!' and with great good-nature they did it several times" A single plate from The Peter Pan Portfolio, by Arthur Rackham, from "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens," by J.M. Barrie. London: Hodder & Stoughton, [n.d. 1912]. Handsomely framed and glazed in the original mount. Image size 10 1/2 x 7 3/8 inches; 267 x 188 mm. Frame size 21 x 17 1/4 inches; 535 x 438 mm. The Peter Pan Portfolio was limited to 600 copies published in 1912, and contained 12 of Rackham's favorite drawings from his 1906 edition of Peter pan in Kensington Gardens, which had 50 color plates. The Portfolio plates are approximately 60% larger than their 1906 counterparts. Greatly enlarged from their earlier appearance, these plates are considered to be Rackham's personal favorites from the fifty that appeared in his 1906 illustrated trade edition of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. Latimore and Haskell, p. 39. Riall, p. 113. .

David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)Professional seller

Book number: 05053

Catalogue: English Literature

Keywords: BARRIE, J.M. Children's Books Illustrated Books Fairies

RACKHAM, Arthur; BARRIE, J.M.

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens

London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1906. A Most Significant Copy of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens  Inscribed by J.M. Barrie to "Tootles" RACKHAM, Arthur, illustrator. BARRIE, J.M. Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1906.  First edition, first impression. A remarkable presentation copy inscribed in ink on the half-title "To Joan Burnett / from her friend / J.M. Barrie / Christmas 1906"  On the verso of the half-title is another ink inscription "To dear Renée Deschamps / In loving memory of her Cousin / "Joan" / a gift from her / mother / Auntie Amy Donds / With much love to dear René / September 27 1922 / 7 New Steine Brighton / England" Quarto (9 7/8 x 7 3/8 inches; 251 x 187 mm.). xii, 125, [126] pp. Tipped-in color frontispiece and forty-nine tipped-in color plates all mounted on heavy stock dark gray paper, each with a lettered tissue-guard.  On the half-title (on the top left above the inscription) is a booksellers neat pencil note "17184 / GIKRT / $150" Publisher's russet cloth, front cover pictorially decorated in gilt, spine decoratively lettered in gilt. Heavy stock dark gray paper end-papers with map of Kensington Gardens. Small (7/8 inch) split at head of spine, very minor rubbing to extremities, otherwise a near fine copy. Chemised in a ca. 1930s quarter red morocco over red cloth slipcase, spine with five raised bands, lettered in gilt in compartments. Spine of slipcase a little faded. This is an astonishing presentation copy of the first edition of "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens," inscribed by author J.M. Barrie to one of the 'lost Boys' in the original 1904 stage production at the Duke of York's Theatre in London. "Peter Pan; or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up or Peter and Wendy, often known simply as Peter Pan, is a work by J.M. Barrie, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous yet innocent little boy who can fly, and has many adventures on the island of Neverland that is inhabited by mermaids, fairies, Native Americana, and pirates. The Peter Pan stories also involve the characters Wendy Darling, and her two brothers, Peter's fairy Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, and the pirate Captain Hook.. The Play debuted at the Duke of York's Theatre in London on 27 December 1904 with Nina Boucicault, daughter of the playwright Dion Boucicault, in the title role.. [and Miss Joan Burnett as Tootles]. The Lost Boys are characters from J.M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up.. They are boys "who fall out of their prams when the nurse is looking the other way and if they are not claimed in seven days, they are sent far away to the Neverland," where Peter Pan is their captain. There are no "lost girls" because, as Peter explains, girls are far too clever to fall out of their prams. Tootles is described as the most unfortunate and humblest of the band, because "the big things" and adventures happen while "he has stepped round the corner." This however has not soured but sweetened his nature. He is the one who shoots Wendy with a bow and arrow after Tinker Bell tells them Wendy is a bird that Peter wants killed. When Tootles realizes his mistake, he asks Peter to kill him. Wendy however survives, and Tootles is spared. Tootles is the first to defend Wendy when she wants to return to London. When Peter takes possession of "The Jolly Roger," Captain Hook's pirate ship, Tootles takes Smee's place as boatswain. At the end of the novel, he returns to London with Wendy and the other lost boys and eventually grows up to become a judge." (Wikipedia - Lost Boys (Peter Pan)). Provenance: James M. Barrie, who scarcely signed books, presented this copy to Joan Burnett (ca. 1890-1922), who played Tootles in the original stage production in December 1904 at the Duke of York's Theatre in London. Joan Burnett died in her early twenties and the book was presented on September 27th, 1922 by Joan's mother "Auntie Amy Donds" to her niece Renée Deschamps (ca. 1890-1978). It would appear that sometime later the book was either handled or purchased by a bookseller and that it was purchased for $150 by Sheila Rose Bolger Becker (ca. 1930-2000) who was a great friend of Auntie Amy Donds. Sheila Rose Bolger Becker (stage name Sheila Jackson) was a TV personality who hosted the US Steel Hour with Steve Allen in the 1960s. The book then passed to her daughter Lisa Becker Edmundson (b. 1959) from whom David Brass Rare Books, Inc. purchased it in March 2021. Included is an original photo postcard (3 3/8 x 5 1/2 inches; 87 x 140 mm.) showing the 1904 cast of the play (including Joan Burnett as Tootles and Hilda Trevelyan (1877-1959) - the original 'Wendy'. The back of the postcard is inscribed (upside down) [by Auntie Amy Dolds] and reads "To Renée / From where / the spot is / The children in bed Wendy / telling them the / story". Also a very old bookseller's description and printed card - and a photographic playbill listing the original cast members. This copy possesses one of the strongest author association of any that have yet to (or will likely ever) surface in the marketplace. It snaps the head back. This deeply satisfying example of the book - illustrated by Arthur Rackham to critical acclaim - is a collector's dream.. With its strong association and inscription dated at the time of publication, our copy is undoubtedly one of the most significant and desirable examples extant. Within the last fifty years, only four Barrie-inscribed copies of "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens" have come to market. Four years ago we sold another copy of the same book with a presentation from J.M. Barrie dated January 1907 to Mary Hodgson who was the nanny of the Llewelyn boys George and Jack, and their baby brother Peter. These children were the inspiration for the character of Peter Pan. Of the three other copies, one was inscribed to his niece, Mary Barrie; the second to Godfrey Tearle, who played Captain Hook in the 1913-14 stage production, and another newly rebound copy inscribed to George Shelton who played Smee (Captain Hook's boatswain) in the original stage production. .

David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)Professional seller

Book number: 05066

Catalogue: English Literature

Keywords: BARRIE, J.M. Children's Books English Literature Illustrated Books Children's Books Illustrated Books Inscribed Copies

RACKHAM, Arthur; BROWNING, Robert

Pied Piper of Hamelin, the

London: George G. Harrap & Co. 1934. The Signed Limited Edition [RACKHAM, Arthur, illustrator]. BROWNING, Robert. The Pied Piper of Hamelin. London: George G. Harrap & Co. [1934]. Limited to 410 copies, signed by Arthur Rackham, this being copy no. 30. Octavo (9 1/8 x 6 inches; 232 x 152 mm.). 44, [1], [3, blank] pp. Four color plates and fourteen drawings in black and white (including one double-page). Publisher's full limp vellum lettered in gilt on front cover. Top edge gilt. In the original publisher's cardboard slipcase with matching limitation number on spine. A very fine copy in the publisher's very slightly rubbed cardboard slip-case. The Pied Piper of Hamelin was a magician in German folklore. According to legend, the town of Hamelin was plagued by rats. A mysterious stranger in varicolored clothes appeared and offered to rid the town of the destructive vermin for a specified sum of money. The leaders of the town agreed to the contract, and the stranger began to play his pipe. The rats came swarming from the buildings and followed him to the River Weser, where they drowned. But when the town leaders refused to make the agreed payment the Pied Piper returned once more to play his pipe. This time, however, it was all the children of the town whom he enchanted and lured away to vanish behind a door in the Koppenberg hill. Robert Browning told the story in his poem The Pied Piper of Hamelin in 1842. Latimore and Haskell, p. 71. Riall, p. 186. .

David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)Professional seller

Book number: 03851

Catalogue: English Literature

Keywords: BROWNING, Robert American Literature Nineteenth-Century Literature Illustrated Books Original Art in Book Bindings Children's Books Illustrated Books Signed Limited Edition Gift Books

RACKHAM, Arthur; BROWNING, Robert

Pied Piper of Hamelin, the

London: George G. Harrap & Co. 1934. An Immaculate Copy Of The Signed Limited Edition [RACKHAM, Arthur, illustrator]. BROWNING, Robert. The Pied Piper of Hamelin. London: George G. Harrap & Co. [1934]. Limited to 410 copies, signed by Arthur Rackham, this being copy no. 45. Octavo (9 1/8 x 6 inches; 232 x 152 mm.). 44, [1], [3, blank] pp. Four color plates and fourteen drawings in black and white (including one double-page). Original full limp vellum lettered in gilt on front cover. Top edge gilt. In the original publisher's cardboard slipcase with matching limitation number on spine. A very fine copy in the publisher's original glassine wrapper (with a just a few small chips at edges). The Pied Piper of Hamelin was a magician in German folklore. According to legend, the town of Hamelin was plagued by rats. A mysterious stranger in varicolored clothes appeared and offered to rid the town of the destructive vermin for a specified sum of money. The leaders of the town agreed to the contract, and the stranger began to play his pipe. The rats came swarming from the buildings and followed him to the River Weser, where they drowned. But when the town leaders refused to make the agreed payment the Pied Piper returned once more to play his pipe. This time, however, it was all the children of the town whom he enchanted and lured away to vanish behind a door in the Koppenberg hill. Robert Browning told the story in his poem The Pied Piper of Hamelin in 1842. Latimore and Haskell, p. 71. Riall, p. 186. .

David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)Professional seller

Book number: 02427

Catalogue: English Literature

Keywords: BROWNING, Robert American Literature Nineteenth-Century Literature Illustrated Books Original Art in Book Bindings Children's Books Illustrated Books Signed Limited Edition

RACKHAM, Arthur; BIANCO, Margery Williams

Poor Cecco

London: Chatto & Windus, 1925. By The Author of The Velveteen Rabbit First English Trade Edition [RACKHAM, Arthur, illustrator]. BIANCO, Margery Williams. Poor Cecco. The Wonderful Story of a Wonderful Wooden Dog Who was the Jolliest Toy in the House until He Went out to Explore the World. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. London: Chatto & Windus, 1925. First English trade edition (no English limited edition was issued). Quarto (10 x 7 1/4 inches; 253 x 186 mm.). 175, [1] pp. Seven mounted color plates and twenty-four drawings in black and white. Original orange cloth pictorially stamped and lettered in red on front cover and lettered in red on spine. Blank endpapers. Small neat ink signature on front free endpaper. A very good copy. The text, with the same plates and drawings, first appeared in magazine form in Good Housekeeping, beginning in May 1925. "The Velveteen Rabbit (1922), [Margery Williams Bianco's ] first children's book, was illustrated by William Nicholson. It was followed by another book about a toy, The Little Wooden Doll (1925), for which the illustrator was her own daughter Pamela..Margery Williams Bianco's third children's book, the much admired Poor Cecco (1925), is the story of a wooden toy, a ‘loose-jointed thing like a dog', who gets out of the toy cupboard and has a lengthy series of adventures with his friend Bulka the rag puppy. The first edition was illustrated by Arthur Rackham" (The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature). Latimore and Haskell, p. 59. Riall, p. 155. .

David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)Professional seller

Book number: 03885

Catalogue: English Literature

Keywords: BIANCO, Margery Williams Children's Books Illustrated Books American Literature Children's Books Illustrated Books Literature

RACKHAM, Arthur

Some British Ballads

New York: Dodd Mead & Co. 1919. First American Trade Edition RACKHAM, Arthur. Some British Ballads. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. New York: Dodd Mead & Co. n.d. [1919]. First American trade edition. Quarto (10 x 7 1/2 inches; 254 x 190 mm.). x, 170, [1, imprint], [1, blank] pp. Partially uncut. Sixteen full color tipped-in plates and twenty-four black and white drawings. Publisher's dark blue cloth, covers and spine pictorially stamped and lettered in gilt. Gray pictorial endpapers. Gilt on spine dull. Minimal rubbing to corners. A very good copy. "Several of the Ballads in this book are based on the great work of Francis James Child.." (Note) "Few of Mr Rackham's work have been more consistently impressed with charm and beauty than his illustrations in colour to Some British Ballads. In them he pictures a succession of fascinating heroines habited in quaint and picturesque costumes, amid surroundings which, though belonging to no definite place or period, are always appropriate and congruous. His heroes are hardly less charming than his heroines, and the scenes in which they are represented constitute a series of fascinating and delightful pictures .. one must feel grateful to Mr Rackham for giving us the prettiest picture book of the season" (The Connoisseur, Vol. LVI, 1920). "Never did old poems appear so gayly bedecked than Some British Ballads, which Arthur Rackham has gorgeously illustrated with 16 paintings.. It is hard to decide which the more attractive feature of this book—Mr. Rackham's paintings or the ballads themselves" (New York Times). "No more effective inspiration for the gifted brush of Arthur Rackham could be found than these popular old ballads. Handsomely printed and bound, this magnificent work should appeal to all" (The Atlantic Monthly, Dec. 1920). Haskell and Latimore p. 50; Riall, p. 137. .

David Brass Rare Books (ABAA/ILAB)Professional seller

Book number: 03655

Catalogue: English Literature

Keywords: Children's Books Illustrated Books Poetry