42. RACKHAM, Arthur (Illustrator, 1867 - 1939) - SHAKESPEARE, William (1564 - 1616). A Midsummer Night’s Dream. London: William Heinemann, 1908. 4to (292 x 225 mm). 40 color illustrations. Original gilt decorated vellum, housed in a custom case. Condition: light offsetting from plates; cover lightly thumbsoiled, residue on spine from library sticker. [With:] The Journal of the Arthur Rackham Society (no. 39), that highlights this book.
number 51 of 1000 copies signed by Rackham. A Midsummer Night’s Dream was Rackham’s favorite Shakespeare play and he devoted two years to completing the illustrations. “Certainly this book provides examples of nearly all of Rackham’s many strengths: his exquisite use of line, his incredible attention to detail, his excellent command of landscape, and his marriage of the worlds of reality and fantasy” (Alton).
est. $1200 – £1800