1910 Beautiful Book bound by Bayntun (Riviere) - Kate Greenaway - The Pied Piper of Hamelin.

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(Description)

Author: BROWNING, Robert. Illustrated by Kate Greenaway.
Title: THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN.
Publisher: London and New York, Frederick Warne Co. Ltd., no date (circa 1910). Printed by Edmund Evans Ltd.
Size: 10 " X 8.5 ".  
Pages: 48 pages.
Binding: Attractive, very good and beautiful gilt decorated full morocco leather binding by Bayntun (Riviere) (hinges fine, overall slightly scuffed and worn - as shown)  in a protective removable mylar cover. All edges gilt.
Content: Near fine content (bright, tight and clean). 
Illustrations: Profusely illustrated with colored picture pages by Kate Greenaway, printed by Edmund Evans. Beautiful!

The book: Scarce in such wonderful binding! The legend of the Pied Piper dates back to the Middle Ages, the earliest references describing a piper, dressed in multicolored ("pied") clothing, who was a rat-catcher hired by the town to lure rats away with his magic pipe. When the citizens refuse to pay for this service as promised, he retaliates by using his instrument's magical power on their children, leading them away as he had the rats. This version of the story spread as folklore and has appeared in the writings of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the Brothers Grimm, and Robert Browning, among others. The phrase "pied piper" has become a metaphor for a person who attracts a following through charisma or false promises.

The illustrator: Catherine Greenaway (17 March 1846 – 6 November 1901) was an English Victorian artist and writer, known for her children's book illustrations. She received her education in graphic design and art between 1858 and 1871 from South Kensington School of Art and the Royal Female School of Art, and the Slade School of Fine Art. She began her career designing for the burgeoning holiday card market, producing Christmas and Valentine's cards. In 1879 wood-block engraver and printer, Edmund Evans, printed Under the Window, an instant best-seller, which established her reputation. Her collaboration with Evans continued throughout the 1880s and 1890s.
The depictions of children in imaginary 18th-century costumes in a Queen Anne style were extremely popular in England and internationally, sparking the Kate Greenaway style. Within a few years of the publication of Under the Window Greenaway's work was imitated in England, Germany and the United States.