1912 Rare Book - The Princess and Curdie by George Macdonald illustrated by Helen Stratton.
(description)
Author: George MacDonald (illustrated by Helen Stratton).
Title: THE PRINCESS and CURDIE.
Publisher: London, Glasgow and Bombay, Blackie & Son, Limited, no date (circa 1912). First thus.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8 " X 6 ".
Pages: 320 pages.
Binding: Attractive and good original decorated cloth-covered boards with gold stamped lettering and a pictorial pastedown on front cover (hinges slightly worn but tight, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. The Art Nouveau binding is typical of Blackie in this period, complete with stylized Glasgow roses.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, some light foxing or staining).
Illustrations: Beautifully illustrated with 12 beautiful full-page color illustrations and 29 in-text illustrations by Helen Stratton. (Complete).
Estimate: (Rare with few other copies available worldwide).
The book: Rare and nice edition of The Princess And Curdie - the sequel to The Princess and the Goblin. The adventure continues with Princess Irene and Curdie a year or two older. They must overthrow a set of corrupt ministers who are poisoning Irene's father, the king. Irene's grandmother also reappears and gives Curdie a strange gift. A monster called Lina aids his quest.
The author: George ( MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll. His writings have been cited as a major literary influence by many notable authors, including W. H. Auden, J. M. Barrie, Lord Dunsany, Hope Mirrlees, Robert E. Howard, L. Frank Baum, T.H. White, Lloyd Alexander, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Walter de la Mare, E. Nesbit, Peter S. Beagle, Neil Gaiman and Madeleine L'Engle. C. S. Lewis wrote that he regarded MacDonald as his "master": "Picking up a copy of Phantastes one day at a train-station bookstall, I began to read. A few hours later", said Lewis, "I knew that I had crossed a great frontier." G. K. Chesterton cited The Princess and the Goblin as a book that had "made a difference to my whole existence".
The illustrator: Helen Isobel Mansfield Ramsey Stratton (5 April 1867 – 4 June 1961) was a British artist and book illustrator. From 1896 Stratton became well known for bold and imaginative pen and ink illustrations to classic tales, her first success being Norman Gale's Songs for Little People, of which The Bookseller wrote in 1896 "Miss Stratton has headed, tailed and bordered the verses with a series of exquisitely pictured fancies". Her work for The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald and its sequel The Princess and Curdie (1912) were particularly popular and have been frequently reprinted.