Horace J. Knowles: Beyond Fairyland

Legends From Fairyland Narrating The History Of Prince Glee & Princess Trill, The Cruel Persecutions & Con- dign Punishment Of Aunt Spite, The Adventures Of The Great Tuflongbo & The Story Of The Blackcap In The Giant’s Well. KNOWLES, Horace J; KNOWLES, Reginald L.; LEE, Holme Knowles’s first book, a collaboration with his brother, lavishes these Victo- rian tales of fairyland with illustration and decoration on every page. It was drawn in evenings throughout 1906 and 1907 after returning home from his job as an engineer’s draughtsman, and of this time he wrote “the least said about this period the better for it was a most unhappy time for the miserable wretch who wanted, most desperately, to draw (but NOT IRON and STEEL THINGS) all the day and not just in the evenings when he was tired.” Knowles’s style, though not yet fully developed, is distinctive from the illustrations in his brother’s hand. Knowles’s archive retains four of his eight full-page illustrations, as well as headpiece and marginal illustrations, both used and unused: 2. “He Became the Ugliest Cat in all Sheneland” 1906 . Original pen and ink drawing on board. 39cm x 27cm. Initialled and dated by Knowles. Illustration clean, browning to the margins. [32984] 3. “We Have Brought You the Two Little Birds, Aunt Spite” 1906 . Original pen and ink drawing on board. 39cm x 27cm. Initialled and dated by Knowles. Illustration clean, abrasions to the corners, not affecting the drawing. [33013] 4. “The Trial Was Long, Careful & Interesting” 1906 . Original pen and ink drawing on board. 39cm x 27cm. Initialled and dated. Knowles’ signature, date and annotation in pencil to the lower mar- gin. A little spotting to the margins. [33014] 5. “Carried Her Away Through the Wildest Wilds of Elfin Wood” 1906 . Original pen and ink drawing on board. 39cm x 27cm. Initialled and dated by Knowles. Knowles’ pencilled signature to the lower right hand margin. Knowles’ name and address in ink to the verso. Remains of a card mount around the margins. [33015]

1. Legends From Fairyland Chatto & Windus, 1908 . First edition. 8vo. Original red pictorial cloth, decorated in gilt. 351 illustrations. Spine decoration after Reginald Knowles, upper cover design af- ter Charles Robinson. Endpapers, half-title, frontispiece, title page, dedication and nine full page illustrations by Reginald Know- les. Eight full page illustrations by Horace Knowles. Twenty headpieces, seventeen in- itials, fourteen tailpieces, and 275 margin- als, with the work divided roughly evenly between the brothers. A good only copy. Some dampstaining. A couple of the full- page plates coloured in. [39357]

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