Lyrics: Pathetic & Humorous from A to Z.

London: Frederick Warne & Co, 1908. First Edition. DULAC, Edmond. Alphabet book of rhymes brilliantly illustrated and conceived by the artist and master illustrator of the golden age of book illustration, Edmund Dulac (1882 - 1953).

E was an exquisite elf
Who enjoyed being quite by herself,
She delighted to play
In a elegant way
With the things that she found on a shelf.

K was a kind-hearted King
Who once taught a bird how to sing,
By knocking a pan
With the knob of a fan,
And a kettle tied onto a string.

U was a youthful Undine
In the kingdom of ultramarine.
Often week after week
She would play hide and seek,
In the weeds with an ugly sardine.

Born in the French city of Toulouse, Edmund Dulac rose to prominence shortly after moving to London when he was twenty two. Dulac's first commission was to illustrate the classic gothic English novel, Jane Eyre, originally written by Charlottle Bronte in 1847. The assignment heralded the beginning of a major deal with J.M. Dent's London publishing house and E.P. Dutton & Co. in New York resulting in a lovely set of books titled The Novels of the Sisters Brontë in Ten Volumes (1905).

The Anglicisation of Dulac's name begins from this date with ‘Edmond' changed to read ‘Edmund'. Dulac amended his signature to reflect the adjustment, not returning to his birth name for many years until entering a successful stamp design in the competition for a commemorative stamp celebrating France's victory against Germany in World War II. Depicting the iconic French revolutionary, Marianne, Dulac's stamp was accepted by Charles de Gaulle and issued in March, 1945. It has since been reprinted on several occasions throughout the twentieth century. Quarto, bound in gilt-decorated pictorial boards with bevelled edges, 24 enchanting colour plates, near fine copy.