1893 Rare De Luxe Limited Edition - A Wonder Book Illustrated by Walter Crane

Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne. Illustrated by Walter Crane.
Title: A Wonder Book for Girls & Boys.
Publisher: Boston & New York, Houghton, Mifflin & Company, 1893. Printed at the Riverside Press. First De Luxe Edition. Limited. This copy marked in red ink as Publisher’s Copy. Unnumbered, from the limited edition of 250 copies.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 10" x 7".
Pages: xii-210 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good deluxe publisher’s vellum-backed boards with blind-stamped Art Nouveau designs and gilt title to upper cover and spine. Preserved in the original gilt-pictorial green dust wrapper (rarely found intact) (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. Upped edge gilt.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing or staining - as shown, endpapers inner hinges worn but still tight - as shown). This copy marked in red ink as Publisher’s Copy. Unnumbered, from the limited edition of 250 copies.
Illustrations: With 60 designs by Walter Crane, including head- and tail-pieces, historiated initials, decorative borders, and 19 superb COLOR PLATES mounted on Japanese paper. Illustrations include Crane’s iconic depictions of Bellerophon on Pegasus, Philemon and Baucis, and Bellerophon slaying the Chimera, among others.

Estimate: (USD 1,250 – 2,000).

The book: First published in 1851, Hawthorne’s A Wonder Book for Girls & Boys retold six classic Greek myths—The Gorgon’s Head, The Golden Touch, The Paradise of Children, The Three Golden Apples, The Miraculous Pitcher, and The Chimæra—for young readers. This 1893 First deluxe edition by Houghton Mifflin, richly illustrated by Walter Crane, stands as one of the most beautiful late Victorian interpretations of Hawthorne’s work. With Crane’s stylized designs harmonizing with Japanese vellum-mounted plates, this edition exemplifies the marriage of fine printing and illustration in the Arts and Crafts era. The presence of the original gilt-pictorial dust wrapper and the note “Publisher’s Copy. Unnumbered” make this example particularly desirable.

The author: Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) remains one of the central figures of American literature, known for his deeply symbolic works such as The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of the Seven Gables (1851). With A Wonder Book, Hawthorne reimagined Greek myths for a youthful audience, blending moral lessons with imaginative storytelling.

The illustrator: Walter Crane (1845–1915), one of the great Victorian illustrators and a leading figure of the Arts and Crafts movement, infused this edition with his distinctive decorative style. Renowned for his children’s books and designs, Crane combined narrative clarity with ornamental richness. His 60 designs for this edition—particularly the color plates on Japanese vellum—rank among his most refined works, bridging Pre-Raphaelite sensibilities with the emerging Art Nouveau aesthetic.