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Undine... Adapted from the German by W. L. Courtney

Undine... Adapted from the German by W. L. Courtney

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Undine... Adapted from the German by W. L. Courtney

by RACKHAM, Arthur and Friedrich de La Motte-Fouqué

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  • first
Condition
Very good
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About This Item

London: William Heinemann, 1909. Very good. Rackham, Arthur. One of the less common of Rackham's works and a beautiful example from the Golden Age of Illustration. It tells of a water-sprite, Undine, who can gain an immortal soul only through marriage to a mortal.

The tale is ideally suited to Rackham's art nouveau style, capturing, as he does, both the tale's medieval chivalry and its roots in northern folklore.

"It would seem unlikely that one of the most ethereal creatures to capture the imagination of translators and illustrators in the nineteenth-century should have been created by a Prussian officer and inspired by the writings of Paracelsus, the founder of the science of toxicology. Nevertheless, this was the pedigree of Undine, the heroine of Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's romance of the same name, who would inspire operas, ballets and numerous adaptations. Her elusive form can be glimpsed behind Hans Christian Andersen's ‘The Little Mermaid' and Dvo ák's Rusalka, a symbol of all that is mysteriously enchanting and ultimately unattainable." [Susan Halstead, Curator Czech and Slovak, British Library]. The legend had great cultural influence inspiring the English writer of the fairy realm, George MacDonald, to declare ‘of all fairytales I know, I think Undine the most beautiful'.
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Provenance: Ex Libris William Crowle; James Fairfax (from his library at Retford Park, Bowral NSW, with bookplate).
Bibliography: Latimore and Haskell p. 34. Riall p. 93. Quarto, limited edition of 1000, signed by Rackham, 15 tipped-in colour plates, captioned paper guards, half-title, original pictorial vellum, gilt, very occasional toning; lacks silk ties otherwise very good.

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Details

Bookseller
Rare Illustrated Books AU (AU)
Bookseller's Inventory #
1660
Title
Undine... Adapted from the German by W. L. Courtney
Author
RACKHAM, Arthur and Friedrich de La Motte-Fouqué
Illustrator
Rackham, Arthur
Book Condition
Used - Very good
Quantity Available
1
Publisher
William Heinemann
Place of Publication
London
Date Published
1909
Keywords
fairy tales fairy painting supernatural water sprite magical children's books signed copy limited edition Arthur Rackham fables stories golden age Hans Christian Andersen The Little Mermaid collection anthology gift book kids children bedtime tales f
Bookseller catalogs
Illustration; Fairy Theme;

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About the Seller

Rare Illustrated Books

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This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
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Sydney, New South Wales

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Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Gilt
The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
Quarto
The term quarto is used to describe a page or book size. A printed sheet is made with four pages of text on each side, and the...
Vellum
Vellum is a sheet of specialty prepared skin of lamb, calf, or goat kid used for binding a book or for printing and writing. ...

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