Mother Goose: The Old Nursery Rhymes Illustrated by Arthur Rackham

One Park Avenue, New York: Weathervane Books, 1978. First edition thus; letter-line beginning w/B. With a foreword to this 1978 new edition by Solomon J. Scheppes. Large 6 1/4" x 9 1/4" design. Smooth dark maroon lightly pebbled cloth boards, sharp gilt spine titles, light shelf wear Frontispiece color plate features the original title page from first edition. Heavy stock coated pages, fine. A dozen Arthur Rackham full-color plates and numerous fancifully drawn figures enhance these simple songs of innnocence. Also, over seventy black and white designs by Rackham as decorative headers, tailpieces, and vignettes greeting the reader and viewer throughout. Features scarce near fine wrapper in black with classical titles with Rackham illustration of Mother Goose in red cloke w/black peaked hat flying in on her goose above awestruck little children. Near fine example in same dust wrapper. Mother Goose has never had a more charming interpreter of her classic well-loved rhymes than Arthur Rackham. The master of pen and brush blends the real and the fantastic to create a striking world of make-believe. Here is Arthur Rackham at his most charming and, slightly macabre, best. From Rackham foreword: There are many more Nursery Rhymes than included in this book, though I think most of the best known are here. I have chosen those I knew and liked best in my own nursery days, and have kept to versions I was familiar with. Nursery rhymes have until recently been handed on by oral tradition with inevitable variations and most we knew came from our elders. However altered, children do not seem to be confused by them and make their own choice and go on inventing variations. Index of first lines at back. Manufactured in the United States of America. 238 pages. Insured post.. First Edition Thus. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. Illus. by Rackham, Arthur. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" Tall.