Washington Irving — Rip Van Winkle

London; New York, William Heinemann; Doubleday, Page, & Co, 1905. Cloth. The second impression of Rackham"s landmark illustrated edition of Washington Irving"s Rip Van Winkle, issued with its suite of fifty-one charming tipped-in colour plates. In the publisher's original green gilt deorated cloth binding.  The first trade edition, second impression, published in November 1905, two months after the first impression. First published in 1819 as part of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. the story combines American folklore, supernatural fantasy and social comedy. 'Rip Van Winkle' tells the tale of a Dutch-American man in colonial America who consumes the liquor of Dutchmen and falls asleep twenty years later, having slept through the American Revolution. Illustrated with a tipped-in colour frontispiece and fifty further tipped-in colour plates by Arthur Rackham, mounted on heavy paper and accompanied by captioned tissue guards. With monochrome illustrations and decorative vignettes throughout the text. Collated, complete.  Washington Irving (1783-1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, historian and diplomat. One of the earliest American authors to achieve an international reputation, he is best remembered for Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) was one of the leading illustrators of the Golden Age of British book illustration. His  watercolours for Rip Van Winkle were exhibited at the Leicester Galleries in 1905 and proved instrumental in establishing his reputation. With the bookplate of Sir Geoffrey Clarke to the front paste down.  In the publisher's original cloth binding. Externally, generally smart. Slight rubbing and bumping to extremities with minor loss to cloth. Bookplate of Sir Geoffrey Clarke to front paste down. Splitting to cloth at front joint, more so to upper extremities, with fraying and lifting to head of spine. Very slight blistering to cloth at rear joint. One or two minor marks to boards with very slight rubbing. Spine slightly faded. Slight fading with light spotting to paste downs. Internally, firmly bound. Hinge strained to half-title with wear to paper at hinge, holding firm. Slight marginal age toning with the odd light spot to first few leaves. Good . Ill.: Arthur Rackham. Good .