1911 Rare First Edition - The Secret Garden illustrated by Maria Louise Kirk
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Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Title: The Secret Garden.
Publisher: New York, Frederick A. Stokes Company, [1911]. First edition with "1911" on copyright page and no additional printings listed.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8 x 6 inches.
Pages: 375 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good original olive-green cloth binding with pictorial cover design featuring rose vines and a color onlay illustration of a girl opening the garden gate. (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown, gilt lettering to spine somewhat dulled - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing and staining - as shown, neat illustrated period bookplate on front pastedown - as shown, endpapers inner hinge worn but still tight - as shown).
Illustrations: Beautifully illustrated by Maria Louise Kirk with a color frontispiece and three full-page color plates (complete).
Estimate: (USD 500–700).
The book: A lovely first illustrated edition by Maria Louise Kirk of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, one of the most cherished works of children’s literature. Originally serialized and published in 1911, this edition—published the same year and richly adorned with Kirk’s color plates—captures the magic and quiet transformation at the heart of the story. The floral Art Nouveau binding design is especially desirable to collectors, and this example presents very well overall.
The author: Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright best known for her classic children's books Little Lord Fauntleroy, A Little Princess, and The Secret Garden. Born in Manchester and later emigrated to the United States, Burnett brought an engaging blend of realism and romanticism to her fiction, often portraying children’s resilience and the redemptive power of nature.
The illustrator: Maria Louise Kirk (1860–1938), often signing her work as M.L. Kirk, was a prolific American illustrator best known for her children’s book illustrations. Her delicate, expressive watercolors imbued scenes with warmth and whimsy, perfectly complementing Burnett’s narrative. Her illustrations for The Secret Garden remain some of the most beloved visual interpretations of the story.