1892 Scarce First Edition - AN ENCHANTED GARDEN, Fairy Stories by Mary Louisa Molesworth illustrated by William John Hennessy.
Title: AN ENCHANTED GARDEN Fairy Stories.
Publisher: London, T. Fisher Unwin, 1892. First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 6.5 " X 4.5 ".
Pages: 221 pages + 7 publisher's catalog.
Binding: Very good original publisher's cream/blue full-cloth binding decorated all over in blue, with the title on the front cover and spine and publisher's device on rear cover (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown, light toning of spine - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. A rare find in any condition!
Content: Very good content (bright, tight, and clean, rare light foxing - as shown, gift note of a previous 1901 owner on the blank page at the back of the frontispiece illustration - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with the two beautiful illustrations by William John Hennessy.
The book: Attractive and Scarce First Edition of AN ENCHANTED GARDEN, Fairy Stories by Mary Louisa Molesworth.
The author: Mary Louisa Molesworth, née Stewart (29 May 1839 – 20 January 1921) was an English writer of children's stories who wrote for children under the name of Mrs Molesworth. Her first novels, for adult readers, Lover and Husband (1869) to Cicely (1874), appeared under the pseudonym of Ennis Graham. Her name occasionally appears in print as M. L. S. Molesworth.
The illustrator: William John Hennessy (11 July 1839 – 27 December 1917) was an Irish-American artist. Hennessy was very skilled in wood engraving and was hired to illustrate the works of renowned poets, including that of Tennyson, Longfellow and Whittier. As an American he became the co-founder of the Artists' Fund Society, and an honorary member of the American Society of Painters in Watercolours. In 1870 he moved to London where he became a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 1902. Between 1879 and 1907 the Royal Hibernian Academy displayed eight of his paintings.