More Monarchs of Merry England (Henry VII to Edward VII); Humourous Rhymes of Historical Times
New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, [1908]. Hardcover. First US edition, quarto size, [130] pp., with twenty colour plates. Very good. Item #CNJWEM017
William Heath Robinson (1872-1944) was an exemplary book illustrator and cartoonist, "the only British illustrator to become a household name" (Houfe), a contemporary of acclaimed illustrators Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, best known for his cartoons portraying elaborate and whimsical machinary made to complete simple tasks. In fact, his fame was such that the term "Heath Robinson" was used in the United Kingdom to refer to such machinary, much as the term "Rube Goldberg" was used in the United States.
This the sequel to "The Monarchs of Merry England" and relates the history of the Kings and Queens of England, delightfully (and somewhat wickedly) illustrated by Robinson. This part covers the reigns of Henry VIII through Edward VII and is complete, with all twenty colour plates.
___DESCRIPTION: Bound in paper-covered bevelled boards with a red cloth spine, paste-down on the front board a Robinson illustration in full colour, two small colour vignettes on the back board, Robinson-illustrated endpapers in blue and white, the twenty colour plates bound in throughout, per Beare the volume has 73 small line drawings or vignettes; large quarto size (11.25" by 8 5/8"), [130] pp.
___CONDITION: A solid very good copy, the boards remarkably unrubbed with all colours deep, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; the boards slightly dusty, the corners somewhat rubbed, the cloth spine beginning to split at the bottom of the front joint, and some rubbing to the head and tail of the spine. Even with its few exterior faults, a near fine copy internally and a lovely example.
___CITATION: Beare 51a (for the British publication). Our search of OCLC locates only two copies of the British edition (Unwin) and five of the US edition (Stokes).
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Price: $250.00