Washington Irving / Arthur Rackham - Rip van Winkle - 1905

"Rip van Winkle" by Washington Irving and illustrated by
Arthur Rackham
William Heinemann, London - 1905 first edition Rackham - 28cmx20cm - . Quarto (25cmx20cm). viii, 57, [1 blank], [2]pp.
Fifty mounted color plates with tissue guards, and frontispiece in color. Green cloth binding of the publishers, embossed pictorially in gold on the front cover and titled in gold on the spine, contrast - green endpapers - condition: good, original green gilt-decorated binding, slight edge wear, some foxing on the pages, all plates present. An excellent copy of this foundational Rackham title.
The illustrations, for a story that does not exceed five thousand words, allow the tale to be told twice, once through Irving's words, and again, image by image, through Rackham's drawings. In his illustrations, Rackham pays homage not only to Dürer, Cruikshank and 16th-century Dutch painting, but also to contemporary artists." (Hamilton). ". But the first work that significantly advanced his reputation in the years following his marriage was his edition of Rip Van Winkle. This lovely book has definitively established Rackham as the leading decorative illustrator of the Edwardian era

Note some traces of foxing due to time but very good condition for its age and complete.