Under the Window by Kate Greenaway, 1st Edition, Sangorski & Sutcliffe Binding

Binding Details:  Beautiful signed onlaid full leather binding by Sangorski & Sutcliffe Bindery with the front cover featuring multi-colored morocco leather onlays of a little girl sitting on a fence within a blind tooled panel composed of gold gilted leafwork within double gilt rules. The back cover has the same gilt pattern as the front cover the spine is elaborately decorated with gold gilt titling, raised hubs, and central motifs. There are gilt dentelles with the same gilt work that appears on the covers, gold and silver marbled endpapers on a pink, gilt cover edges, with all page ends being gold gilted. The gold gilt stamp of Sangorski & Sutcliffe appears on the bottom of the rear inside cover. The book is housed in a matching morocco edged open-ended suede lined slipcase.

Book Details:  This is the first edition of Kate Greenaway’s classic “Under the Window: Pictures and Rhymes for Children” that is a mixed issue containing most of the first state points including the illustrations on pages 21, 35 and 63 which were removed in later editions but without "End of Contents" appearing at the bottom of page 14. Although undated, the book was published in 1878. In his article entitled, “Kate Greenaway: Legendary Illustrator of Children’s Books”, Vic Zoschak wrote: “Kate Greenaway gained considerable notoriety doing illustrations for other authors’ works but she longed to write her own book. Greenaway made her debut as an author with “Under the Window”. Like her illustrations, Greenaway’s verses were simple, elegant, and charming. The book was an instant success, selling approximately 150,000 copies. Both French and German editions of the book were published. One of the few artists to gain true celebrity from illustrating children’s books, Kate Greenaway was one of the most influential illustrators of her age. Greenaway, along with Randolph Caldecott and Walter Crane, revolutionized illustration. Popular in both Europe and the United States, Greenaway has remained highly sought after.” The Kate Greenaway Medal, an annual prize (since 1955) awarded for excellence in the field of English children’s illustration, lives on in her honor.

The book measures approximately 9.2” x 7.5” with 64 pages the elaborately illustrated table of contents.

Condition Report: The binding is in FINE condition. Internally, the book is very clean and contains no bookplates or signs of previous ownership. The slipcase is also in FINE condition with some superficial surface wear

Photographs of the binding and endpapers as well as some stock illustrations from the book appear in the photo section of the listing.