2013 Rare 1stED - An Unexpected Gift, A Christmas Tale by Charles van Sandwyk
A charming and beautifully produced first edition of Charles van Sandwyk’s Christmas tale, richly illustrated in his unmistakable whimsical style and preserved in Fine condition.
Author: Charles van Sandwyk.
Title: An Unexpected Gift.
Publisher: North Vancouver: C.S.V. Fine Arts (The Fairy Press), 2013.
Edition: First Edition.
Language: English.
Pages: 24 pages of text and 16 pages of illustrations.
Size: 9 x 6.5 inches.
Binding: Fine and attractive original cherry-red pictorial card covers, hand-stitched, with the front cover beautifully decorated in gilt and colours around a mounted pictorial illustration. Fine hinges and binding.
Content: Fine content, bright, tight and exceptionally clean throughout. Printed on fine papers, with decorative holly and mistletoe endpapers and shimmering gilt leaves. Protected in a removable mylar cover.
Illustrations: Complete with seven watercolours and eight ink drawings printed on three papers, including full-page colour illustrations, delicate line drawings, a map, and a striking double-page illustration of Christmas Town and the North Pole.
Estimate: $275–300 USD.
The book: A charming and scarce first edition of this gentle, old-fashioned Christmas tale by Charles van Sandwyk, following Bartholomew the Green, cousin of Father Christmas, as he leaves Antarctica to help restore an old-fashioned Christmas to a wayward and needy world. The story is filled with van Sandwyk’s characteristic humour, imagination and affection for an earlier world, populated here by Father Christmas, polar bears, reindeer, penguins, elves and owls.
Beautifully conceived as an object as well as a story, the book combines calligraphic elements, fine typography and van Sandwyk’s wonderfully detailed watercolours and pen-and-ink drawings. The colophon records printing by True Colours and Contact Printing, with design and typography by Robert Reid using William Morris’s Golden typeface. A particularly attractive example of van Sandwyk’s festive work, preserved in Fine condition.
The author: Charles van Sandwyk is a Canadian artist, illustrator and author celebrated for his exquisitely crafted books and whimsical depictions of animals, fairies and imaginary worlds. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1966 and raised in British Columbia, his work draws inspiration from the great illustrators and book artists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, combining delicate draftsmanship, calligraphy and traditional bookmaking with a distinctive sense of humour and enchantment.
His books and original artworks have developed a devoted international following among collectors. Van Sandwyk has also illustrated celebrated editions for the Folio Society, while his privately and finely printed works remain particularly sought after for their intimate craftsmanship and unmistakable artistic character.