41 One Of Rackham’s Most Sought-After Titles: His Illustrated Mother Goose, Signed By Him 56RACKHAM, Arthur. Mother Goose. The Old Nursery Rhymes. London, 1913. Quarto, original pictorial white cloth, custom slipcase. $6200 Signed limited edition, one of 1130 copies signed by Rackham, with 13 splendid color plates mounted on brown stock and 85 intext line cuts. Rackham’s beloved Mother Goose includes “Jack Sprat,” “Little Miss Muffett,” “Jack and Jill,” “Little Bo Peep,” “The House that Jack Built” and many other rhymes; in the introduction, he says “I think most of the best known are here. I have chosen those I knew and liked best in my own nursery days.” In addition to choosing the texts himself, he personalized the artwork—several illustrations feature self-caricatures, and Jack’s house is based on the artist’s own Chalcot Gardens home. Minor foxing to endpapers, contents clean and bright; slight signs of wear to cloth and a bit of faint toning to spine. A beautiful copy. “Peopling The Universe With Elves And Leprechauns” 57RACKHAM, Arthur. The Arthur Rackham Fairy Book. London, 1933. Octavo, original full vellum gilt. $4000 Signed limited first edition, one of only 460 copies signed by Rackham, with eight full-page color illustration and 60 in-text line cuts and silhouettes, a handsome uncut copy. One of the last books Rackham illustrated before his death, this lovely volume includes 23 favorite tales such as “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “The Ugly Duckling,” “Cinderella” and “Ali Baba.” Walter Starkie, Rackham’s nephew, recalled his first impression of the great illustrator: “When armed with palette and paint brushes, he became for me a wizard, who with one brush of his magic wand could people my universe with elves and leprechauns” (Carpenter, 440). Without original slipcase. Plates and text fine, mild soiling to vellum, small split to spine head. A lovely copy.
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