RACKHAM, Arthur; BROWN, Abbie Farwell — Lonesomest Doll, the

Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1928. The Rackham-Illustrated Edition "A Difficult Title To Find in Good Condition" [RACKHAM, Arthur, illustrator]. BROWN, Abbie Farwell. The Lonesomest Doll. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1928. First edition illustrated by Rackham, published only in America. Octavo (8 1/4 x 5 7/8 in; 209 x 150 mm). [8]. 80, [1], [3, blank] pp. Title page, frontispiece and two full page illustrations in rose and greenish-blue, twenty-six black and white drawings. Original tan, pictorially stamped, cloth. A remarkably fresh, clean, and exceptionally fine copy. A scarce and much-admired late Rackham book, distinguished by its exclusive American publication and by the poignancy of both text and image. Brown's tender, slightly melancholy tale of abandonment and consolation finds an ideal visual counterpart in Rackham's restrained late style - less densely fantastical than his Edwardian masterpieces, yet psychologically subtle and emotionally resonant. As noted by James Hamilton Riall, the book was printed on poor, brittle paper, rendering well-preserved copies genuinely uncommon. Survival in such fine condition is therefore exceptional. A desirable Rackham item for the collector, and an important example of his American reception in the final decade of his career. References: Latimore & Haskell, p. 63; Hudson, p. 171; Riall, p. 163. .