1930 Rare Book - THE PRINCESS AND THE GOBLIN Illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith.
(description)
Author: George MacDonald. (Jessie Willcox Smith, illustrator).
Title: THE PRINCESS AND THE GOBLIN by George MacDonald. Illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith.
Publisher: Philadelphia, David McKay, no date (1930s). Rare light green binding variant illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith satisfying all of the points in Nudelman A55.2 (Binding C).
Language: Text in English.
Size : 9.5 " X 7.5 ".
Pages: 203 pages.
Binding: Attractive and near fine scarce original light-green decorated cloth-covered boards with dark blue stamped lettering on spine and a pictorial pastedown on front cover, upper edge orange (hinges fine) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good, near fine content (bright, tight, and clean - as shown).
Illustrations: Beautifully illustrated with the complete 8 full-page color illustrations by Jessie Willcox Smith.
Estimate: (Scarce with practically no other copy available worldwide in this binding variant).
The book: Scarce and attractive light-green cloth binding variant illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith of The Princess and the Goblin -- a children's fantasy novel by George MacDonald. It was originally published in 1872 by Strahan & Co., with black-and-white illustrations by Arthur Hughes. Strahan had published the story and illustrations as a serial in the monthly magazine Good Words for the Young, beginning November 1870.
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: Jessie Willcox Smith (September 6, 1863 – May 3, 1935) was an American illustrator during the Golden Age of American illustration. She was considered "one of the greatest pure illustrators". She was a contributor to books and magazines during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.