The King of the Golden River
London: George C. Harrap & Co. Ltd., (1932). Rackham, Arthur. First Edition. Wraps. First trade with Rackham illustrations, octavo size, 48 pp. Near fine / near fine. Item #21082324
A perfect convergence of "one of the earliest English examples of a fantasy written specifically for a child" (which may have had a direct effect upon George MacDonald and, subsequently, C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien) written by the truly brilliant writer John Ruskin (1819-1900), author, art critic, and social thinker; wonderfully illustrated by the unparalleled Arthur Rackham (1867-1939), whose "imaginative eye saw all forms with the eyes of childhood and created a world that was half reassuring and half frightening" (n. b., quotes from Carpenter, "The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature", p. 294 and Houfe, "The Dictionary of 19 Century British Book Illustrators", p. 268).
Ruskin wrote the story for the then twelve-year old Effie Gray, later to become his wife, who challenged her friend Mr. Ruskin to write a fairy story, as it was "the least likely task for him to fulfill" - he fulfilled it wonderfully, and the story has remained a favourite with children ever since.
___DESCRIPTION: Coloured pictorial wraps in green, red and orange with green lettering and rules on the front wrap (spine and back wrap blank), fore- and bottom edges uncut, green pictorial endpapers, frontispiece one of the four full-colour illustrations, title page in red and black with vignette in the same colours, the black and white drawings scattered through the text; octavo size (9" by 6"), pagination: [1-4] 5-47 [48]. The dust jacket matches the design of the wraps with the only difference being the original price of "5/- net" in green at the bottom corner of the front flap.
___CONDITION: Near fine; the volume clean other than a few light specks and hint of dustiness at the top edges, the text block is strong and the hinges solid, the interior pages are clean and bright, and it is free of prior owner markings. The dust jacket mostly clean with a few more light spots of soil, the spine somewhat sunned and a bit of minor edgewear. Overall a near fine, bright copy.
___CITATIONS: Riall p. 176; Latimore & Haskell p. 67.
___POSTAGE: International customers please note that additional postage may apply, please inquire for details.
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Price: $125.00