Fairy Tales and Legends by Hans Anderson

Hans Anderson. Illustrated by Rex Whistler.

London. Cobden-Sanderson Ltd. 1935. First edition. From the limited edition of 200 copies, bound in cream buckram and signed by Whistler on the half-title. Cream buckram-bound hardback, with elaborate rococo-style gilt ornament to boards and spine, with titles within decorative vignettes to front board and spine, matching ornamental endpapers, all edges gilt. Decorative title-page, 10 full-page plates, 16 text illustrations, 33 head-pieces and 15 tail-pieces. 210 x 150mm (8¼ x 6"). 0.9kg. . English. Near fine; forecorners and spine ends lightly curled, some scratching to surface of gilt edges; a bright copy of an ornamental binding.

A beautiful copy of Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy Tales and Legends, illustrated and signed by Rex Whistler, bound in a limited edition gilt binding. The romantic, otherworldliness of Hans Christien Anderson's tales are perfectly suited to Whistler's artistic sensibility, and his illustrations have elements of both humour and the macarbe. Several of the illustrations were created using the scraperboard method. The book proved popular when first published and has subsequently been reprinted several times. There is a story that one of Whistler's friends walked up the aisle carrying a copy of the Fairy Tales, the ornamented cover proving to be a perfect substitute for a prayer book.

[Whistler & Fuller. The Work of Rex Whistler. No. 475; Cecil. In Search of Rex Whistler. His Life and Work. p. 110]