little girl would have to be brought to me”. The biographers note that the bookplate was “considered a successful result”. Greenaway produced a number of preliminary pencil drawings and was occupied with the work “off and on for two and a half years”. As a result she was “sent a much larger sum than was actually due” but “insisted on returning to [Samuel] the over-payment”. A group of material relating to the bookplate sold at auction in December 2019 and included a fine pencil and watercolour version of the drawing, signed and dated “Kate Greenaway 1899”. The present piece using ink, pencil and watercolour is a finer drawing with better definition and subtlety of colour throughout. Original drawing (94 × 77 mm) on card (172 × 151 mm), fine ink, pencil, and watercolour, signed with initials (“KG”) lower left and dated (“1898”) lower right, mounted, framed, and glazed (framed size 226 × 210 mm). Minor adhesive residue to left edge, consistent toning; a fine and unfaded drawing. ¶ Keith Clark, “The Bookplate Designs of Kate Greenaway”, The Private Library , Autumn 1975, pp. 101–114; Schuster & Engen, 352; M. H. Spielmann & G. S. Layard, Kate Greenaway , 1905, pp. 211. £3,000 [154978] 46 GREENAWAY, Kate. Five small girls dancing among rose bushes. [c.1890] Original artwork capturing the artist’s enchanted regency world One of the artist’s frieze drawings of children dancing between flowers. Original drawing (55 × 173 mm) on paper (132 × 250 mm), laid down on board (236 × 342 mm), fine ink and watercolour, signed with initials (“KG”) lower left, mounted, framed, and glazed (framed size 252 × 358 mm). Light consistent toning, unfaded. £4,000 [154974]
42
44
45
42 GREENAWAY, Kate. Two children with a basket of roses. [c.1880] A fine ink and watercolour drawing One of the artist’s distinctive drawings, demonstrating her intricate use of line. Original drawing (75 × 58 mm) on card (190 × 139 mm), fine ink and watercolour, signed with initials (“KG”) lower left, mounted, framed, and glazed (framed size 332 × 306). Consistent light toning and slight foxing; near-fine and unfaded. . £2,000 [154975]
43 GREENAWAY, Kate. A Day in a Child’s Life. [Music by Myles B. Foster. Engraved and Printed by Edmund Evans.] London: George Routledge & Sons, [1881] Retaining the original 1881 jacket First edition, first issue (green boards and endpapers), retaining the rare dust jacket, in exceptional condition. Quarto, pp. 29. Original pictorial paper-covered boards, green cloth spine, green endpapers. With printed dust jacket. Housed in a custom chemise and slipcase. Bookplate on front pastedown. Fine in like jacket. ¶ Schuster & Engen 66/1a. £1,950 [144667] 44 GREENAWAY, Kate. “Tired”. 1881 Original artwork from one of the artist’s best-known books Published within A Day in a Child’s Life in 1881, this illustration accompanies the poem “Tired” by Somerville Gibney. The fine watercolour was originally reproduced on page 22 with the opening text: “Oh, I’m so sleepy, I’ll lie down to rest / Here in the sun; / Soon will he go to his bed in the west, / Day will be done”. Original drawing (100 × 175 mm) on paper (115 × 190 mm), fine ink and watercolour, signed with initials (“KG”) lower left, mounted, framed, and glazed (framed size 293 × 356 mm). Some light toning; fine and unfaded. ¶ Michael Patrick Hearn, “Mr Ruskin and Miss Greenaway”, Children’s Literature , 1980; Simon Houfe, 19th Century British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists , 1998. £3,750 [155009]
45 GREENAWAY, Kate. “Vera Evelyn Samuel. Her Book”. 1898 One of her finest drawings, for her only bookplate to be printed in colour This original drawing is assumed to be the artist’s own version of a bookplate which is considered one of Greenaway’s “finest drawings and the only bookplate to have been printed in colour” (Keith Clark). The published bookplate is reproduced within Spielmann and Layard’s biography of Greenaway, first published in 1905. Vera Evelyn Samuel (1894–1991) was one of two daughters of Stuart Montague Samuel and his wife, Ida Samuel. She later became Lady Cohen, married to Benn Jack Brunel Cohen, an M.P. and campaigner for the disabled. A letter, quoted by Spielmann and Layard, shows that Greenaway wrote to Stuart M. Samuel on 13 April 1896 stating “I can only do certain kinds of bookplates, nothing heraldic. I do not think I could do a bookplate to be sure it was a portrait. An ordinary bookplate is £5 or £6. I could only undertake to do a portrait here – the
43
All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
CHILDREN’S BOOKS & ORIGINAL ARTWORK
26
27
46
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter maker