RACKHAM, Arthur.
Rare books by Arthur Rackham, including first editions, signed limited editions, copies in fine bindings, and original artwork.
Arthur Rackham was the dominant figure in the illustrated gift-book market in the early twentieth century. He was celebrated for his imaginative and fantastical illustrations, which were often characterized by a strong sense of mystery and a dreamlike quality. He was particularly known for his illustrations of fairy tales, myths, and legends, which he illustrated with a keen sense of storytelling and an eye for detail. Intricately rendered, Rackham's illustrations are some of the finest examples of the art of illustration, had a marked influence on his contemporaries and successors, and continue to be admired and studied today.
You’ll find below our current selection of material by and relating to Arthur Rackham. We are always buying and considering fresh material, and we can draw upon our extensive network to source rare books and manuscripts. Please contact us if any title or item you’re looking for is not currently listed.
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); IRVING, Washington. Rip Van Winkle.London : 1905
First Rackham edition. The illustrations immediately established Rackham as the leading illustrator of lavishly produced gift books in the Edwardian era. In March 1905 the original watercolours were exhibited at Leicester Galleries, attracting the attention of J. M. Barrie, who then commissioned Rackham's next book, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); IRVING, Washington. Rip Van Winkle.London : 1905
First Rackham edition. The illustrations immediately established Rackham as the leading illustrator of lavishly produced gift books in the Edwardian era. In March 1905 the original watercolours were exhibited at Leicester Galleries, attracting the attention of J. M. Barrie, who then commissioned Rackham's next book, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); GRAHAME, Kenneth. The Wind in the Willows.London : 1951
First UK edition, number 329 of 500 copies. This is the 100th edition of Grahame's classic, originally published in 1908.
Rackham's illustrations first appeared in the Limited Editions Club edition. "During his last illness Rackham worked on illustrations to... The Wind in the Willows, a book for which he had a strong affection, and which...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur. Mother Goose.London : 1913
Signed limited edition, number 846 of 1,130 copies signed by the artist, presented here in a handsome binding by the Chelsea Bindery.
One contemporary reviewer noted that if Rackham's "present series of drawings illustrating Mother Goose had come before the public unheralded by the many successes he has already achieved, he would again have...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); RUSKIN, John. The King of the Golden River.London : 1932
Signed limited edition, number 328 of 570 copies signed by the artist. Ruskin's story was originally conceived in 1841, and written for his future wife, Effie Gray: "Effie first met her future husband when she was twelve, on a visit to Herne Hill. The following year, 1841, on a second visit, she challenged him to write a fairy story"...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur. The Arthur Rackham Fairy Book.London : 1933
Deluxe edition, number 5 of 460 copies signed by the artist. This is one of ten "special copies" reserved by the publisher, specially bound, and with an original ink and watercolour drawing by Rackham. The watercolour is signed by the artist. This copy extra-illustrates "The Three Bears" and shows the little old woman jumping from a window,...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur. Collection of 11 cards, designed by the artist.1900-35
A collection of seven Christmas cards, three New Year cards, and one wedding announcement card featuring illustrations by Rackham. Riall lists 14 Christmas cards and 5 New Year cards. Two examples in the present collection are excluded from his listing of New Year cards (1911 and 1935).
The card for Christmas 1906 includes a drawing of six...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur. Original watercolour for Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens: "A Band of Workmen, Who were Sawing Down a Toadstool, Rushed Away, Leaving Their Tools Behind Them".1906
Published in Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens in 1906, as the 14th of 50 colour plates, to accompany the text, "to Peter's bewilderment he discovered that every fairy he met fled from him". Exhibited at the Leicester Galleries Exhibition in December 1906, this fine drawing shows Rackham's comic grotesque style and was originally purchased by his...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); WALTON, Izaak. The Compleat Angler.London : 1931
First Rackham edition, signed limited issue, number 479 of 775 copies signed by the artist. "Mr Rackham takes his own way with Walton, and poses him more for the literary than for the angling reader. But he seems to understand the tones of sky and atmosphere that make angler's weather, and his own vein of the playful-fantastic is most winningly...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); POLLARD, Alfred W. The Romance of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.London : 1917
Signed limited edition, number 370 of 500 copies signed by the artist. The Romance of King Arthur was a wartime book, commissioned to reflect the nation's mood of patriotism and military endeavour.
In preparing for the commission, Rackham turned to his own copy of Beardsley's Morte D'Arthur. Like Beardsley's illustrations, Rackham's designs...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur. Autograph letter signed, to John Taylor, together with seven greetings cards, four bookplates, and other material.Limpsfield, Surrey : 1934
An interesting letter in which Rackham writes to his agent and discusses drawing additional watercolours in books, together with his thoughts about terms. Letters by Rackham with business content are uncommon. John Taylor acted for Rackham in the 1930s and arranged business with clients in America.
Rackham states he is glad to learn that...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); BIANCO, Margery Williams. Poor Cecco.New York : 1925
Deluxe edition, number 23 of 105 copies signed by the author. Unlike many of Rackham's deluxe editions, this one was not signed by him, nor was it issued in the UK in a deluxe version. This is the rarest of all Rackham limited editions.
A contemporary review of the UK edition stated "the wonderful story of the wonderful wooden dog who was...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); RUSKIN, John. The King of the Golden River.London : 1932
Signed limited edition, number 151 of 570 copies signed by the artist. Ruskin's story was conceived in 1841 and written for his future wife, Effie Gray: "Effie first met her future husband when she was twelve, on a visit to Herne Hill. The following year, 1841, on a second visit, she challenged him to write a fairy story" (ODNB).
First...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur. Some British Ballads.London : [1919]
Signed limited edition, number 23 of 575 copies, signed and numbered by the artist.
One contemporary review celebrated how "illustrated gift books have regained this year all their pre-war sumptuousness. With memories of war paper still vivid in the mind it restores one's faith in the possibility of a return to the normal in other things to...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); GRIMM, The Brothers. Little Brother & Little Sister and Other Tales.London : [1917]
Signed limited edition, number 443 of 525 copies, signed by the artist. The limited edition included an "extra plate", being a duplicate of "He hurried away with long strides", signed by Rackham and this is present here in the original printed envelope.
A review in The Bookman noted that "Here is an ideal conjunction of author and artist -...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); LA MOTTE-FOUQUÉ, Friedrich Heinrich Karl, Freiherr de. Undine.London : 1909
First Rackham edition, deluxe issue, number 109 of 1,000 copies signed by the illustrator. This publication "was still another step forward for Rackham, the unity of conception in the line drawings and the colour plates, and the assertion of contrast in the moods of the heroine, rendered it a masterpiece of sympathetic understanding" (Hudson, p....Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); SHAKESPEARE, William. The Tempest.London : [1926]
First Rackham edition, signed limited issue, number 266 of 520 copies signed by Rackham. The limited issue includes an additional plate ("Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell") not present in the trade edition.
A review published in The Bystander on 8 December 1926 noted that the book was "most exquisitely illustrated by Arthur Rackham, and...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); GRIMM, Brothers. Grimm's Fairy Tales.London : 1909
Signed limited edition, number 584 of 750 copies signed by the artist. This is a revised and enlarged edition of the work originally published in 1900, with some new illustrations, as well as others redrawn and coloured.
As noted by Rodney Engen, "Rackham greatly loved fairy tales and had collected his many favourites over the years. The...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); GOLDSMITH, Oliver. The Vicar of Wakefield.London : 1929
Signed limited edition, number 331 of 575 copies signed by the artist for the UK market alongside an additional 200 copies for the US. Originally published in 1766, Goldsmith's masterpiece was among the most popular novels of its age and it remains a classic of English literature.
A contemporary review in The Bookman stated, "seldom have we...Learn More
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); SWINBURNE, Algernon Charles. The Springtide of Life: Poems of Childhood.London : 1918
Signed limited edition, number 521 of 765 copies signed by the artist. This edition includes an additional colour plate that is not present in the trade edition. It depicts Swinburne as Pan addressing a group of children beneath a typically Rackhamesque tree.
A contemporary review in The Bookman states, "Arthur Rackham has caught the very...Learn More
