The Water Babies
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1982. Twelve tipped-in color illustrations, with all tissue guards intact, and vignettes throughout by Jessie Willcox Smith. Limited edition reissue of 1919 first Jessie Willcox Smith illustrated edition. Publisher's full green leather, illustratively stamped in gilt, aeg, with ribbon marker. 1" spot of lighting to front board top corner, gently rubbed bottom corners, still fine. Item #241413
CAPTURING THE SOUL OF A CHILD
Jessie Willcox Smith's 1919 illustrations brought a soft and dreamy touch to Charles' Kingsley's The Water Babies. As one of the predominant female golden age illustrators, Smith told fairytales of her own to get her child models to sit still, allowing her to tenderly capture Tom, a little chimney sweep who falls out a window into the river, and his adventures as a newly transformed water baby. This 1982 reissue captures Smith's serenity for a new generation, handsomely bound in full green leather and featuring all twelve tipped-in color illustrations.
Price: $250.00