A Child's Garden of Verses. by STEVENSON, Robert Louis - 1896

1896. London: John Lane; New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1896. 8vo., bound by Stikeman in half gilt ruled dark burgundy morocco over marbled paper boards, spine panelled and lettered in gilt with gilt thistle centre tools, all edges gilt. Illustrated by Charles Robinson. A handsome copy. Provenance: From the library of George J. Gould (February 6, 1864 – May 16, 1923) with his Georgian Court engraved bookplate. Georgian Court is now the home of Georgian Court University. Gould was a financier and the son of Jay Gould. He was himself a railroad executive, leading both the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (DRGW) and the Western Pacific Railroad (WP). First Robinson illustrated edition, large paper copy, limited to 250 copies on Japon vellum. Originally published in 1885 under the title Penny Whistles, A Child's Garden of Verses contains 65 poems relating to childhood, and includes such verses as Auntie's Skirts, The Land of Nod, and Where Go the Boats, where Stevenson reminisces about his childhood memories of floating paper boats down the stream. Presented here with the charming Robinson illustrations - this was to be the first book he illustrated, and contains over 100 pen and ink drawings.