These two books are both illustrated by Kate Greenaway. The first is titled Little Ann And Other Poems By Jane and Ann Taylor, Illustrated by Kate Greenaway and published by Frederick Warne circa 1909, and it has nineteenth century poems about children which reflect the manners and mores of the day. The second book is A Mother Goose Treasury Illustrated By Kate Greenaway and published by Avenel in 1988, with the original dust jacket.
Sizes: 9 1/8 x 6 in. 8 x 5 1/2 in.
Little Ann And Other Poems has a green cloth spine, printed paper boards featuring a colored illustration of seated children, each holding a letter of the title, all the edges were stained red by the publisher, yellow coated endpapers, an illustrated half-title with “Made in Great Britain” stamped below the floral decoration, then an illustrated color frontis, the title page was illustrated by Kate Greenaway and the bottom of the page says the book was published in London by Warne, the copyright page is undated, but the book was published circa 1909, according to WorldCat, so it’s the second edition, then a page dedicated to the children of Frederick Locker Esq, a Contents page, and 64 pages of text filled with numerous color illustrations by Greenaway.
The first edition was published in 1883 by George Routledge and had all the edges stained blue by the publisher, and Edmund Evans was the printer and had his name stated on the front board of the first edition, and the 1909 copy here has the red stain on all the edges and lacks his name on the front board.
Catherine “Kate” Greenaway (1846 - 1901) was an English Victorian artist and writer known for illustrating children’s books. Her mother was a dress maker and her father an engraver, and perhaps that’s where her interest in art developed. She received her education in graphic design and art between 1858 and 1871 from several schools, and she received her first commission for children’s book illustrations in 1867, which set her on a path towards specializing in children’s books. She exhibited a set of fairy watercolors in 1868 and designed greeting cards for Christmas and Valentine’s to keep money coming in. In 1879 wood-block engraver and printer Edmund Evans printed her first book, Under the Window, it became a best-seller and cemented her reputation as an artist. She continued collaborating with Evans throughout the 1880's and 90’s, and along with Aubrey Beardsley, she was considered one of the most popular bookplate designers of her time - her only rivals for popularity in illustrating children’s books were Walter Crane and Randolph Caldecott - mighty high company to keep.
Jane Taylor (1783 - 1824) was an English poet and novelist who collaborated with her sister Ann on the poems in Little Ann, and Jane is most famous for “The Star”, a poem which we now know by its first line ‘"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”.
A Mother Goose Treasury was illustrated by Kate Greenaway and is undated, but it was published by Avenel in 1988, according to WorldCat, it has blue boards with silver lettering and a silver motif on the front board, 49 full color illustrations inside, and it comes with the dust jacket.
Little Ann And Other Poems measures 9 1/8 x 6 inches wide and is in very good condition, with a tight binding and clean pages and illustrations for the most part. There is faint wear along the edges of the boards and at the tips, a few pages have brown spots, and faint marks on the yellow flyleaf in front. A Mother Goose Treasury measures 8 x 5 1/2 inches wide and the one blemish is a small tear on the back of the dust jacket, and both titles are attractive copies of these books illustrated by Katie Greenaway.
#6273
