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Rackham, Arthur (illustrator); Chesterton, G. K.; Jones, Vernon (translator)
Aesop's Fables. [Signed by the artist]
Publisher: William Heinemann; Doubleday; Page & Co., London; New York;
Date of Publication: 1912
Stock Code: 9505
Signed Limited Edition. Quarto, pp., xxix [1] 1-224. Number 1,181 of only 1,450 copies signed by the artist, of which 250 were for the USA, 200 for Australia, and 1,000 for Great Britain and Ireland. With a colour frontispiece and 12 colour plates mounted on fawn paper, with captioned tissue guards, and black and white illustrations throughout by Rackham. Bound in the original publishers’ white ivory cloth gilt, vignette and title blocked to upper board, gilt animal ornaments and titles to spine, top edge gilt, others uncut.
Slightly toned spine, with cloth very lightly soiled, endpapers toned, light speckled foxing mainly to prelims and fore-edges. A tight, square, clean copy free of ownership inscriptions or annotations, with bright vibrant illustrations and bright gilt decorations. A near fine copy. A collection of the best-loved Aesop’s Fables including The Moon and Her Mother, The Hare and the Tortoise, and Venus and the Cat illustrated in Rackham’s enchanting characteristic style. A leading figure of the Golden Age of British book illustration, Rackham’s dark and ethereal approach to his subjects continues to influence artists, illustrators and film directors to this day. With a laid-in advertisement leaf for the exhibition of the original watercolours for this title at the Leicester Galleries, 19 October to 16 November 1912. £950.00