1918 First Edition-The Boy Who Knew What the Birds Said by Dugald Stewart Walker
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Author: Padraic Colum. Illustrated by Dugald Stewart Walker.
Title: The Boy Who Knew What the Birds Said.
Publisher: New York, The Macmillan Company, 1918. First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 7.5" x 6".
Pages: 176 pages + publisher's catalog.
Binding: Attractive and very good publisher’s original illustrated beige cloth with striking pictorial design in blue, black, and yellow. The spine is lettered in black with matching design elements (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, come light foxing and staining - as shown).
Illustrations: Illustrated throughout with 8 stunning full-page black-and-white plates, numerous ornamental chapter headings and in-text vignettes by Dugald Stewart Walker, including a striking color frontispiece opposite the title. All plates are present and in excellent condition.
Estimate: (USD 150–200).
The book: First Edition. A lyrical and dreamlike collection of mythic and folkloric tales, The Boy Who Knew What the Birds Said captures Padraic Colum’s gift for crafting poetic narratives that evoke the rhythms of oral storytelling. With its themes of nature, transformation, and the inner life of children, the book stands as one of Colum’s most enchanting contributions to early 20th-century children’s literature. The synergy between Colum's narrative and Dugald Stewart Walker’s elegant and imaginative Art Nouveau illustrations makes this edition especially prized among collectors.
The author: Padraic Colum (1881–1972) was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, and prolific author of children’s books. A key figure of the Irish Literary Revival, Colum was closely associated with W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory. His children's tales often draw on folklore and mythology, blending poetic language with timeless archetypes to explore moral and mystical themes.
The illustrator: Dugald Stewart Walker (1883–1937) was an American illustrator celebrated for his exquisite pen-and-ink and watercolor works influenced by the Art Nouveau and Golden Age illustration styles. His elaborate designs and ethereal line work elevate the storytelling in this volume, creating a fairy-tale atmosphere uniquely his own. Walker’s work in this edition is considered among his finest, marked by refined composition and fantastical detail.