Rip Van Winkle
Heinemann, 1905.
First edition, deluxe issue, one of only 250 copies, signed by Arthur Rackham. This copy is one of the unnumbered copies reserved for presentation. Large 4to. Full publisher's ivory vellum with gilt lettering and vignettes. Top edge gilt and others untrimmed. Mounted colour frontis and fifty mounted colour plates at the end on brown art paper (one mount with a paper fault resulting in a small hole) and protected by captioned tissue guards. A near fine copy, bright and clean, slight dustiness to endpapers and silk ties lacking.
This book was the first of the opulent Christmas Gift books, and Rackham's first major work. Its beauty and popularity began the "Golden Age of Book Illustration," in which publishers and illustrators competed to present the most beautiful volumes to the gift market.
Stock ID: 31021
£4,750.00
