1884 First Edition - The Princess Nobody by A. Lang Illustrated by Richard Doyle
Author: Andrew Lang. Illustrated by Richard Doyle.
Title: The Princess Nobody. A Tale of Fairy Land.
Publisher: London: Longmans, Green, and Co., circa 1884. Printed in colors by Edmund Evans. First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 9.5 x 7.5 inches.
Pages: 56 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good original publisher’s brown pictorial cloth binding, with gilt title and decorative floral scrollwork framing a large colored pictorial onlay by Richard Doyle to the front cover; a second matching color illustration adorns the rear cover. Spine cloth a deep crimson hue, gilt lettering bright (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown, corners gently scuffed and rubbed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. An excellent, square, and vibrant copy.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean - as shown). The text is clean, crisp, and bright throughout, free of foxing or marks. A fresh and appealing copy internally with the original decorative black endpapers featuring Doyle’s intricate fairyland design.
Illustrations: Beautifully illustrated throughout with chromoxylographs (color wood engravings) printed by Edmund Evans, after the original drawings by Richard Doyle. Includes a lovely frontispiece and numerous delicate vignettes, headpieces, and full-page color plates that bring to life the ethereal world of fairies, birds, and enchanted forests. (Complete).
Estimate: (USD 750–800).
The book: A charming first edition of this late Victorian fairy tale that unites the literary grace of Andrew Lang with the whimsical artistry of Richard Doyle, printed in colors by the master craftsman Edmund Evans. The Princess Nobody tells the story of Princess Niente and her adventures in Fairyland, interwoven with verses, humor, and imagination. This richly illustrated collaboration was conceived after Doyle’s death, with Lang crafting the text around Doyle’s existing drawings—a tribute to the artist’s lifelong enchantment with fairy subjects. A highlight of Victorian color printing and one of the most enchanting fairy books of its era.
The author: Andrew Lang (1844–1912) was a Scottish poet, folklorist, and literary critic best known for his Color Fairy Books, which collected fairy tales from around the world. His elegant prose and deep interest in folklore helped preserve traditional storytelling for new generations of readers.
The illustrator: Richard Doyle (1824–1883), one of the most beloved illustrators of the Victorian age, was renowned for his delicate fantasy scenes filled with elves, sprites, and fairy revels. His artwork for Punch, In Fairyland (1870), and this posthumous collaboration with Lang solidified his reputation as one of the great visual chroniclers of the Victorian imagination.