2008 Signed Limited First Edition - Wind in the Willows by Charles van Sandwyk
The magnificent 2008 Folio Society Centenary Edition of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, one of only 1,000 copies, illustrated throughout by Charles van Sandwyk and accompanied by his original signed and numbered copperplate etching.
Author: Kenneth Grahame.
Title: The Wind in the Willows.
Publisher: London: The Folio Society, 2008.
Edition: Centenary Edition. First Deluxe Edition, limited to 1,000 copies, each with an original copperplate etching signed and numbered by Charles van Sandwyk. This copy is No. 322/1000.
Language: English.
Pages: 266 pages.
Size: Book approximately 13 x 10 inches; solander box approximately 14 x 11 inches.
Binding: Fine luxurious quarter vellum binding with grey Oxford paper sides, the upper board elaborately decorated in gilt, silver and brown with Rat and Mole in their boat, surrounded by reeds, dragonflies and trailing foliage. Spine beautifully titled and decorated in gilt. The rear board features a charming gilt and coloured figure of Toad. Protected in a removable mylar cover. Housed in the substantial original green cloth-covered solander box with decorative gilt-lettered spine label. The box is in near fine condition, with only a tiny bump to one external corner, as shown.
Content: Fine condition, clean, bright and beautifully preserved throughout. Printed on fine-quality paper and retaining the original limitation leaf and the specially commissioned copperplate etching, numbered 322 and signed in pencil by Charles van Sandwyk.
Illustrations: Lavishly illustrated throughout by Charles van Sandwyk with full-page colour plates, numerous detailed black-and-white drawings, decorative borders, chapter ornaments and vignettes. Includes the original hand-pulled copperplate etching, signed and numbered by the artist.
Estimate: $2,000–3,000 USD.
The book:
Published by the Folio Society in 2008 to celebrate the centenary of Kenneth Grahame’s beloved classic, this exceptional edition of The Wind in the Willows was limited to only 1,000 copies. Produced on a grand scale and presented in an imposing solander box, it combines fine bookmaking with an extraordinary cycle of illustrations by Charles van Sandwyk. Each copy was issued with an original copperplate etching, individually signed and numbered by the artist, making this one of the most desirable modern editions of Grahame’s masterpiece.
First published in 1908, The Wind in the Willows follows Mole, Rat, Badger and the irrepressible Mr Toad through a world of riverbanks, woodland paths, country houses and exuberant adventure. Beneath its gentle humour lies a deeply affectionate celebration of friendship, home, nature and the passing seasons, qualities that have made the book one of the enduring classics of English literature.
The author:
Kenneth Grahame (1859–1932) was a Scottish-born British writer whose literary reputation rests principally upon The Wind in the Willows. Many of its episodes grew from bedtime stories he told his young son Alastair, gradually developing into the richly imagined world of the River Bank, Wild Wood and Toad Hall.
Grahame’s combination of pastoral nostalgia, humour and lyrical prose gave the novel an appeal extending far beyond children’s literature. More than a century after publication, Mole, Rat, Badger and Toad remain among the most recognizable characters in English fiction.
The illustrator:
Charles van Sandwyk is a Canadian artist, illustrator and author celebrated for his finely observed natural imagery, whimsical anthropomorphic animals and devotion to the traditions of fine book illustration. Working in pen and ink, watercolour, etching and letterpress, his work evokes the great illustrators of the Golden Age while remaining immediately recognizable as his own.
His interpretation of The Wind in the Willows is among his most ambitious achievements. Van Sandwyk’s richly inhabited landscapes, expressive characters and intricate ornamental details are exceptionally sympathetic to Grahame’s world, while the original signed copperplate etching included with each of the 1,000 copies gives this Centenary Edition the character of both a fine press book and an artist’s book.