Arthur Rackham – Illustrations from Grimm’s Fairy Tales 1909

Arthur Rackham (1867 – 1939) was an English book illustrator.

Arthur Rackham is widely regarded as one of the leading illustrators from the ‘Golden Age’ of British book illustration which encompassed the years from 1900 until the start of the First World War. During that period, there was a strong market for high quality illustrated books which typically were given as Christmas gifts.

Many of Rackham’s books were produced in a deluxe limited edition, often vellum bound and sometimes signed, as well as a larger, less ornately bound quarto ‘trade’ edition. This was often followed by a more modestly presented octavo edition in subsequent years for particularly popular books. He was one of the most prolific and most loved illustrator of children’s book. Many of his work are still in print today.

It has been awhile since my last update to the gallery and I’m pleased to add one of Arthur Rackham’s greatest work: Grimm’s Fairy Tales. First published by Constable, London, 1912 with 40 tipped-in color plates and numerous B/W illustrations. This is his third major work, following the great success of Rip Van Winkle and Peter Pan in Kensington Garden.

Grimms’ Fairy Tales, originally known as the Children’s and Household Tales), is a collection of fairy tales by the Grimm brothers or “Brothers Grimm”, Jakob and Wilhelm, first published on 20 December 1812. The first edition contained 86 stories, and by the seventh edition in 1857, had 210 unique fairy tales.

Other Arthur Rackham’s illustrated works available in our gallery: Rip Van Winkle, Tales of Mystery and Imagination, Book of Pictures, The Night Before Christmas, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Midsummer’s Night Dream, Undine, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Peter Pan in Kensington Garden, The Ingoldsby Legends.

Art Gallery: Arthur Rackham – Grimm’s Fairy Tales 1909