Books

Signed limited edition, number 3 of 20 copies signed by Arthur Rackham on each plate, with the book signed by the publisher and engraver/printer on the limitation page. Although the edition was limited to 100 copies, only about 20 were signed throughout by Rackham. Published to capitalise on the popularity of the stage production Peter and Wendy, it is the only suite of Rackham's plates to be issued in an oversize portfolio format, with 12 of the artist's personal favourites from Rackham's Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens reproduced at their original size. Of Rackham's designs Barrie wrote, "I like best of all the Serpentine with the fairies, and the Peter in his night-gown sitting in the tree. Next I would/sic the flying Peters, the fairies going to the ball (as in the 'tiff' and the fairy on cobweb) - the fairies sewing the leaves with their sense of fun (the gayest thing this) and your treatment of snow" (Ray 329). Barrie's comments may have influenced Rackham's selection, as this portfolio includes all the images he mentioned. Elephant folio. Original full vellum, titles to front board gilt, new cream silk ties. In a facsimile of the original box. With 12 tipped in and mounted and signed plates reproduced from the original artwork by Arthur Rackham. Moderate soiling to boards with some spotting, corners and ends of spine bumped, plates with slight wave to them. A very good copy.

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens is one of J.M. Barrie's works that features the character Peter Pan, offering a backstory to the beloved 'boy who wouldn't grow up.' Originally part of Barrie's book 'The Little White Bird' (1902), these chapters were later republished as a stand-alone story detailing Peter's adventures in London's famous Kensington Gardens. It's a tale of fantasy that explores themes of childhood innocence and escapism.