The Secret Garden -
Frances Hodgson Burnett, Charles Robinson (Illustrator)
1911 - William Heinemann, London - First English Edition, and First Edition illustrated by Robinson
First edition in the scarce original gilt decorated cloth, of this magical portrayal of reawakened spirits, charmingly illustrated by Charles Robinson, including eight coloured plates with captioned tissue guards.
Mistress Mary, the orphaned expatriate, without ‘Ayah’, arrives at the dark, draughty, gloomy and cold Misselthwaite Manor. Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924) grew up in England, but she began writing what was to become The Secret Garden in 1909, when she was creating a garden for a new home in Long Island, New York. Burnett was already established as a novelist for adults when she turned to writing for children. Little Lord Fauntleroy, written for her two young boys; the play A Little Princess, which became the basis for the novel of the same name; and The Secret Garden are the works for which she is most warmly remembered.
Charles Robinson (1870-1937) was a watercolour painter, illustrator and decorator. He was the son of Thomas Robinson, a wood engraver. Robinson was educated at Islington High School and Highbury School of Art and subsequently apprenticed to the lithography firm Waterlow and Son. He first came to notice in 1895 when his drawings were published in the influential magazine The Studio and he was asked to illustrate R.L. Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses. Charles Robinson and his brothers William Heath Robinson (1872-1944) and Thomas Heath Robinson (1869-1950), were among the most popular illustrators of the Edwardian period. Charles Robinson was elected President of the London Sketch Club, and in 1932 was elected to the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours (the RI). According to Simon Houfe, Robinson's illustrations had eclectic sources, and were 'partly inspired by the prints of Durer, partly by the Pre-Raphaelites, their space often suggestive of Japanese prints.' – Victoria and Albert Museum.
Provenance: Dorothea Elizabeth Allhusen (1902-26), with a contemporary gift inscription to ‘Elizabeth’ from ‘Joan Thurston’ dated 1911, and her bookplate. Later signature of Elizabeth Caroline Williams (née Morgan-Grenville) (1944-2012), Granddaughter of 8th Baroness Kinloss and wife of John Kendrick Williams.
Reference: Houfe, The Dictionary of British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists 1800-1914, 435-6, 453.
Large octavo (book size 20.9x16.2cm), pp. vii [1] 306, 6 (publisher’s advertisements). In publisher;s green cloth, spine intricately decorated and lettered in gilt, upper board with gilt vignette and lettering. Condition: Very good, foxing to first and last few pages, and a little to edges, in near fine cloth, light wear to corners and spine ends. Ref: 112635 Price: HK$ 14,000
Mistress Mary, the orphaned expatriate, without ‘Ayah’, arrives at the dark, draughty, gloomy and cold Misselthwaite Manor. Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924) grew up in England, but she began writing what was to become The Secret Garden in 1909, when she was creating a garden for a new home in Long Island, New York. Burnett was already established as a novelist for adults when she turned to writing for children. Little Lord Fauntleroy, written for her two young boys; the play A Little Princess, which became the basis for the novel of the same name; and The Secret Garden are the works for which she is most warmly remembered.
Charles Robinson (1870-1937) was a watercolour painter, illustrator and decorator. He was the son of Thomas Robinson, a wood engraver. Robinson was educated at Islington High School and Highbury School of Art and subsequently apprenticed to the lithography firm Waterlow and Son. He first came to notice in 1895 when his drawings were published in the influential magazine The Studio and he was asked to illustrate R.L. Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses. Charles Robinson and his brothers William Heath Robinson (1872-1944) and Thomas Heath Robinson (1869-1950), were among the most popular illustrators of the Edwardian period. Charles Robinson was elected President of the London Sketch Club, and in 1932 was elected to the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours (the RI). According to Simon Houfe, Robinson's illustrations had eclectic sources, and were 'partly inspired by the prints of Durer, partly by the Pre-Raphaelites, their space often suggestive of Japanese prints.' – Victoria and Albert Museum.
Provenance: Dorothea Elizabeth Allhusen (1902-26), with a contemporary gift inscription to ‘Elizabeth’ from ‘Joan Thurston’ dated 1911, and her bookplate. Later signature of Elizabeth Caroline Williams (née Morgan-Grenville) (1944-2012), Granddaughter of 8th Baroness Kinloss and wife of John Kendrick Williams.
Reference: Houfe, The Dictionary of British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists 1800-1914, 435-6, 453.
Large octavo (book size 20.9x16.2cm), pp. vii [1] 306, 6 (publisher’s advertisements). In publisher;s green cloth, spine intricately decorated and lettered in gilt, upper board with gilt vignette and lettering. Condition: Very good, foxing to first and last few pages, and a little to edges, in near fine cloth, light wear to corners and spine ends. Ref: 112635 Price: HK$ 14,000