Books

Signed limited edition, number 229 of 250 copies signed by the artist. This was the first book wholly illustrated by Rackham to be issued in a limited edition format and it immediately established him as the leading illustrator of lavishly produced gift books in the Edwardian era. In March 1905 Rackham's originals were exhibited at the Leicester Galleries, which led to this deluxe edition being fully subscribed before the exhibition had closed. The exhibition also attracted the attention of J. M. Barrie, who then commissioned Rackham's next book, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (1906). Quarto. Original vellum, spine and front cover lettered in gilt, pictorial image blocked in gilt to front cover, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Housed in custom blue cloth chemise and slipcase by James McDonald Co. of New York. Colour frontispiece and 50 colour plates tipped to brown paper with captioned tissue guards, vignettes on black- and green-lettered title page, 2 line drawings and a historiated initial in the text, all by Rackham. Engraved art nouveau bookplate of Matt Gosset by Robert Anning Bell (1863-1933). Lacking silk ties, vellum slightly soiled, but notably square, trivial short split to foot of front inner hinge, foxing to endpapers, plates bright. A very good copy indeed. Latimore & Haskell, p. 26; Riall, pp. 69-70.

Rip Van Winkle is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, published in 1819 as part of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. The story is set in New York's Catskill Mountains and follows Rip Van Winkle, a Dutch American villager who falls asleep before the American Revolution and wakes up twenty years later to a very different world. His disappearance and return are met with incredulity by those around him. This tale is known for its themes of change and continuity, the American past, and individualism.