"The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent" by Washington Irving - The Knickerbocker Press, 1895 limited edition of 175 sets of Westminister Edition, this being no 2 signed by publisher G.P. Putnams - 25cmx18cm - complete in two volumes - condition: very good, in original publisher's full gilt-tooled calf, dark brown gilt-lettered morocco spine labels, top edges gilt, with rubbing and scuffing to boards and spines, with decorative textured endpapers tissue-guarded frontispieces at head of each volume, thirty (30) leaves of plates, including four by Arthur Rackham, text printed within decorative border printed in green and gilt; LATIMORE & HASKELL, pp. 4-5, erroneously attributing just three illustrations to Rackham]. One of the earliest Rackham illustrated editions The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., commonly referred to as The Sketch Book, is a collection of 34 essays and short stories written by the American author Washington Irving. It was published serially throughout 1819 and 1820. The collection includes two of Irving's best-known stories, attributed to the fictional Dutch historian Diedrich Knickerbocker: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle". It also marks Irving's first use of the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon, which he would continue to employ throughout his literary career. The Sketch Book, along with James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales, was among the first widely read works of American literature in Britain and Europe. It also helped advance the reputation of American writers with an international audience.