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1981 1st Edition (Thus) Slipcase, All Edges Gilt
THE WATER BABIES
A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby
A handsome deluxe limited edition of Charles Kingsley’s celebrated Victorian fantasy, illustrated by one of the great figures of the Golden Age of American illustration, Jessie Willcox Smith.
Issued by Hodder & Stoughton in 1981, this leather-bound edition was produced as a reproduction of the 1919 illustrated edition and was strictly limited to 500 numbered copies, of which this is No. 387.
Bound in richly grained dark green leather with elaborate gilt decoration and lettering to the upper board, all edges gilt, illustrated endpapers and the original matching slipcase. The volume reproduces Jessie Willcox Smith’s celebrated illustrations, including 12 full-page colour plates, together with numerous line drawings and decorative illustrations throughout.
A particularly attractive presentation of The Water-Babies, combining Kingsley’s enduring Victorian fairy tale with Smith’s distinctive and highly collectible illustration work. Complete with its numbered limitation statement and original slipcase.
By Charles Kingsley
Format: Leather, Royal octavo (8vo 6 1⁄4 × 10 in 159 × 254 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Limited Edition: 387/500 Copies
Language: English
Published By: Hodder & Stoughton, London
ISBN: 9780340274651
Condition Report:
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Fine - A very well-preserved example of this deluxe limited edition. The leather binding remains clean and attractive, with the grain strongly defined and the gilt lettering and decorative blocking bright and well preserved. All edges gilt remain attractive. Internally the volume appears exceptionally clean, fresh and little, if at all, read, with the colour plates retaining strong colour and the illustrated leaves crisp and clean.
The original green slipcase is present and remains in Fine condition, with only minor evidence of handling commensurate with age.
The book retains a transparent protective plastic wrapper. This wrapper has torn and shows age-related creasing/yellowing; this affects the removable protective covering rather than the principal leather binding.
The numbered limitation statement is present, confirming that this leather-bound edition was reissued in 1981 as a reproduction of the original 1919 edition, limited to 500 copies, this example numbered 387.
An unusually fresh and visually striking copy, retaining both its original slipcase and limitation statement.
Collation: pp. ix, 240; 12 colour plates, with numerous line drawings and decorative illustrations throughout.
Please see Photos as part of condition report.
Author Bio: Charles Kingsley (1819–1875) was an English clergyman, university professor, novelist, historian, poet and social reformer. Associated with the Christian Socialist movement and the Working Men’s College, he took an active interest in questions of labour, education, sanitation and social reform.
Kingsley wrote across history, theology, fiction and children’s literature. His best-known works include Westward Ho!, The Heroes and The Water-Babies. He was also a friend and correspondent of Charles Darwin and engaged closely with many of the scientific and social debates that transformed Victorian Britain.
Illustrated By: Jessie Willcox Smith
Illustrator Bio: Jessie Willcox Smith (1863–1935) was one of the foremost American illustrators of the Golden Age of Illustration. Celebrated especially for her sensitive and imaginative depictions of childhood, she worked extensively for books and leading periodicals including Scribner’s, Harper’s, Century, Collier’s and Good Housekeeping.
Smith illustrated more than sixty books during her career, including editions of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Evangeline and Charles Kingsley’s The Water-Babies.
Her illustrations for The Water-Babies are among her most recognisable book works, combining delicately observed children with dreamlike aquatic imagery and a distinctive palette particularly well suited to Kingsley’s strange underwater fantasy.
Synopsis: Originally published in book form in 1863, The Water-Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby follows Tom, a young chimney sweep whose escape from the harsh world of Victorian child labour leads him into a fantastical underwater existence as a “water-baby”.
Through encounters with strange creatures and allegorical figures, Tom undergoes a journey of moral and spiritual development. Kingsley combines fairy tale, adventure, natural history, social criticism, religious allegory and playful satire, addressing themes of compassion, responsibility, education and personal transformation.
The work also reflects the intellectual ferment of the early 1860s, engaging—sometimes seriously and sometimes satirically—with contemporary debates surrounding natural science and evolution. Hugely popular with generations of readers, The Water-Babies became one of the defining works of Victorian children’s fantasy.
Like a number of nineteenth-century works, the text also contains racial, religious and national stereotypes that are objectionable to modern readers and reflect prejudices of its period. Its continuing interest lies both in its place in the development of children’s literature and in its unusually rich combination of fantasy, social history, science and Victorian cultural debate.
SKU: BTETM0002283
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 3Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
1981 1st Edition (Thus) Slipcase, All Edges Gilt
THE WATER BABIES
A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby
A handsome deluxe limited edition of Charles Kingsley’s celebrated Victorian fantasy, illustrated by one of the great figures of the Golden Age of American illustration, Jessie Willcox Smith.
Issued by Hodder & Stoughton in 1981, this leather-bound edition was produced as a reproduction of the 1919 illustrated edition and was strictly limited to 500 numbered copies, of which this is No. 387.
Bound in richly grained dark green leather with elaborate gilt decoration and lettering to the upper board, all edges gilt, illustrated endpapers and the original matching slipcase. The volume reproduces Jessie Willcox Smith’s celebrated illustrations, including 12 full-page colour plates, together with numerous line drawings and decorative illustrations throughout.
A particularly attractive presentation of The Water-Babies, combining Kingsley’s enduring Victorian fairy tale with Smith’s distinctive and highly collectible illustration work. Complete with its numbered limitation statement and original slipcase.
By Charles Kingsley
Format: Leather, Royal octavo (8vo 6 1⁄4 × 10 in 159 × 254 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Limited Edition: 387/500 Copies
Language: English
Published By: Hodder & Stoughton, London
ISBN: 9780340274651
Condition Report:
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Fine - A very well-preserved example of this deluxe limited edition. The leather binding remains clean and attractive, with the grain strongly defined and the gilt lettering and decorative blocking bright and well preserved. All edges gilt remain attractive. Internally the volume appears exceptionally clean, fresh and little, if at all, read, with the colour plates retaining strong colour and the illustrated leaves crisp and clean.
The original green slipcase is present and remains in Fine condition, with only minor evidence of handling commensurate with age.
The book retains a transparent protective plastic wrapper. This wrapper has torn and shows age-related creasing/yellowing; this affects the removable protective covering rather than the principal leather binding.
The numbered limitation statement is present, confirming that this leather-bound edition was reissued in 1981 as a reproduction of the original 1919 edition, limited to 500 copies, this example numbered 387.
An unusually fresh and visually striking copy, retaining both its original slipcase and limitation statement.
Collation: pp. ix, 240; 12 colour plates, with numerous line drawings and decorative illustrations throughout.
Please see Photos as part of condition report.
Author Bio: Charles Kingsley (1819–1875) was an English clergyman, university professor, novelist, historian, poet and social reformer. Associated with the Christian Socialist movement and the Working Men’s College, he took an active interest in questions of labour, education, sanitation and social reform.
Kingsley wrote across history, theology, fiction and children’s literature. His best-known works include Westward Ho!, The Heroes and The Water-Babies. He was also a friend and correspondent of Charles Darwin and engaged closely with many of the scientific and social debates that transformed Victorian Britain.
Illustrated By: Jessie Willcox Smith
Illustrator Bio: Jessie Willcox Smith (1863–1935) was one of the foremost American illustrators of the Golden Age of Illustration. Celebrated especially for her sensitive and imaginative depictions of childhood, she worked extensively for books and leading periodicals including Scribner’s, Harper’s, Century, Collier’s and Good Housekeeping.
Smith illustrated more than sixty books during her career, including editions of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Evangeline and Charles Kingsley’s The Water-Babies.
Her illustrations for The Water-Babies are among her most recognisable book works, combining delicately observed children with dreamlike aquatic imagery and a distinctive palette particularly well suited to Kingsley’s strange underwater fantasy.
Synopsis: Originally published in book form in 1863, The Water-Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby follows Tom, a young chimney sweep whose escape from the harsh world of Victorian child labour leads him into a fantastical underwater existence as a “water-baby”.
Through encounters with strange creatures and allegorical figures, Tom undergoes a journey of moral and spiritual development. Kingsley combines fairy tale, adventure, natural history, social criticism, religious allegory and playful satire, addressing themes of compassion, responsibility, education and personal transformation.
The work also reflects the intellectual ferment of the early 1860s, engaging—sometimes seriously and sometimes satirically—with contemporary debates surrounding natural science and evolution. Hugely popular with generations of readers, The Water-Babies became one of the defining works of Victorian children’s fantasy.
Like a number of nineteenth-century works, the text also contains racial, religious and national stereotypes that are objectionable to modern readers and reflect prejudices of its period. Its continuing interest lies both in its place in the development of children’s literature and in its unusually rich combination of fantasy, social history, science and Victorian cultural debate.
SKU: BTETM0002283
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 3Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
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