Nursery Rhymes Set to New Tunes.
Chelsea: (Southernwood Press, c. 1915). Small quarto. (23)ff. One of thirty copies printed on handmade paper. Illustrated throughout by Josephine Winser. The drawings illustrate popular nursery rhymes, including Humpty Dumpty, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Jack & Jill, and Sing a Song of Sixpence. Children take center stage in these depictions, whether presenting the blackbird-filled pie to the king or herding sheep into the pasture. The images appear on the versos of the pages, opposite the music and lyrics for each nursery rhyme. Winser's illustrations show elements of Art Nouveau style, with decorative pictorial borders framing each scene, and are reminiscent of the work of Walter Crane. Although not noted in the book, this title was printed by the Curwen Press for the Southernwood Press. Of exceptional scarcity, and perhaps one of the earliest deluxe books combining music and illustrations to come from the Curwen Press. Light offsetting to endpapers, else extremely fine in original vellum-backed grey boards with title in gilt on upper cover. Item #25933
(Tomkinson, p. 231).
Price: $300.00