The Peek-A-Boos and Mr. Plopper

London: Henry Frowde / Hodder & Stoughton, n.d.. Hardcover. Very good. Preston, Chloe; Howard-Vyse, George. Large octavo size, [52] pp. Chloe Preston provided the illustrations for twelve "Peek-A-Boo" books (per Baumgarten); interestingly, this title not listed. With the introduction of anthropomorphised animals Preston seems to have been inspired by Beatrix Potter, whose "Peter Rabbit" was first published in 1901.

Information on Chloe Preston (1887-1969) is a bit elusive; from various online sources we gleen that she was born in Britain "in a gentrified English country environment". Her charming illustrations of the Chunkies (anthropomorphic wooden dolls) and the Peek-a-Boos have "clear simple outlines and bright colours, [and] her humorous images portray simple excursions and activities" (n.b., quotes from the web site of the Antique Print Club).

___DESCRIPTION: Paper-covered boards, white lettering on the front board debossed and outlined in black, full-colour pictorial circular paper onlay mounted below the lettering and raised (bas-relief style), black lettering and decorations printed on the spine, black-line illustrated endpapers (front and rear different images), colour frontispiece one of eight full-page colour illustrations throughout printed on rectos only, black-line illustrated title page, additional black-line in-text illustrations throughout; large octavo size (8 7/8" by 8"), [52] pp.

___CONDITION: Overall very good, the binding showing minimal wear with a few light marks on the raised paper onlay, the colours on the onlay still bright, a strong square text block with solid hinges, the interior illustrations bright, the sole prior owner marking we see a name written in a vintage hand on the verso of the front free endpaper; some minor soiling to the boards, spine sunned, offsetting to the free endpapers, the front pastedown shows the indentations from the front board having been debossed to create the bas-relief effect, light foxing to the text block edges, and a few scattered spots of light soil throughout. Even with its faults, a very good, solid copy.

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