1880 Rare Book -The King of the Golden River or the Black Brothers. A Legend of Stiria. Fairy Tale illustrated by Richard Doyle.
Author: Ruskin, John (illustrations by Richard Doyle).
Title: The King of the Golden River or The Black Brothers. A legend of Stiria. Illustrated by Richard Doyle.
Publisher: Orpington; Kent: George Allen, no date (circa 1880's). Seventh edition (stated).
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8 " X 6 ".
Pages: 64 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good original full cloth binding (overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (tight and clean, rare foxing, and staining, endpaper inner hinges worn but still tight, 1882 gift note on the first blank - as shown).
Illustrations: Profusely illustrated with wood-engraved frontispiece and illustrations by Richard Doyle.
The book: Attractive and rare edition of The King of the Golden River or The Black Brothers: A Legend of Stiria by John Ruskin -- originally written in 1841 for the twelve-year-old Effie (Euphemia) Gray, whom Ruskin later married. It was published in book form in 1851 and became an early Victorian classic that sold out three editions. In the "Advertisement to the First Edition", which prefaces it, it is called a fairy tale, one, it might be added, that illustrates the triumph of love, kindness, and goodness over evil; however, it could also be characterized as a fable, a fabricated origin myth, and a parable. It was illustrated with 22 illustrations by Richard Doyle (1824–83).
The illustrator: Richard "Dickie" Doyle (18 September 1824 – 10 December 1883) was a notable illustrator of the Victorian era. His work frequently appeared, amongst other places, in Punch magazine; he drew the cover of the first issue and designed the magazine's masthead, a design that was used for over a century.