Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$80.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: 136pp, large octavo, tipped-in color plates (two plates are loose), heavy wear to the boards and edges, fabric at backstrip is torn along the edges, gilt spine titles have faded but remain clear, mildly foxing pages, boards are soiled, clean and unmarkes pages and plates.
Seller: COLLINS BOOKS, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
De L Motte Fouque. Undine. William Heinemann, London, 1909.
Price: US$85.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: Small quarto. Pp. 136, plus [15]ff. plates. The sad mermaid fantasy, with 15 beautiful plates by Arthur Rackham. All plates present, but frontispiece, with tissue guard, nearly detached. Cloth-backed boards toned and soiled, worn at extremities. First three and last three leaves lightly foxed, as are the endpapers. A good copy.
Seller: Bryn Mawr Bookstore, Cambridge, MA, U.S.A.
Fouque, De La Motte. Undine. William Heinemann and Doubleday Page & Co., London, 1909.
Price: US$125.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Rubbing to binding edges and corners. First several pages top corners are bumped. Bookplate on front endpaper. gift inscription on front free endpaper. 1909 on title page. 15 color plates with tissue guards.
Seller: Manchester By The Book, Manchester-By-the-Sea, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$125.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: with fifteen color plates by Arthur Rackham, each with tissue guard (collated complete). Good condition with edge wear to the boards and one small soil spot at top of front board. Clean internally, no owner names.
Seller: Jim Hodgson Books, Churchton, MD, U.S.A.
Price: US$125.00 + shipping
Description: 4to. 136 pp. Illustrated title in green & black, tipped-in colour frontisp., 14 tipped-in colour plates. Quarter-green publisher's cloth over illustrated green speckled boards, cover art on covers & spine by Rackham, illustrated endpapers by Rackham (edgewear, rubbing, minor wear & bumping to corners, minor scuffing to spine), still a VG- copy, from the library of Anne "Nita" Wilson Patton (1887-1971), sister to General George S. Patton (1885-1945). First trade edition of this tragic German tale of changelings, water-sprites, and fated love inspired by the occult works of Paracelsus, detailing how the mermaid water-sprite could gain a human soul by marrying a mortal. Motte Fouque's story reportedly inspired Hans Christian Andersen's "Little Mermaid."
Seller: Zephyr Used & Rare Books, Vancouver, WA, U.S.A.
Fouque, De la Motte; Courtney, W. L.. Undine. William Heinemann, 1909.
Price: US$200.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Green cloth spine, green paper-covered boards. Rubbed on edges. Gilt lettering on spine. Spine and edges tanned. Name on front endpaper. Endpapers are split in some places along gutter. All15 tipped in plates with tissue, some tissue torn. Clean throughout.
Seller: Bearly Read Books, Sudbury, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$209.88 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: Published: 1909. 1st Thus. DESCRIPTION: Blue cloth with the 15 tipped-in colour plates by Arthur Rackham with accompanying captioned tissue guards. Language: English. Book Condition: Fair: Wear to corners, edges and spine ends. Rubbed cloth with a few marks. Sunned upper spine end and edges. All plates present as prescribed with tissue guards. Tightly bound with foxed intact endpapers and strong hinges. Heavy foxing to fly pages and last two pages with lighter foxing up to page three and back to page 128. Occasional marks and fox patches to other pages. All plates are clean with a few marks to the guards. DJ Condition: No DJ Pages viii, 136. Size: 25.5cm by 19cm.
Seller: Jacket and Cloth, Chippenham, United Kingdom
Freidrich de la Motte-Fouqué. UNDINE. William Heinemann, London, 1909.
Price: US$215.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: USED, VERY GOOD HARDCOVER. Beautifully illustrated by Arthur Rackham, with fifteen tipped-in color plates, and 30-plus in text illustrations, including a beautifully illustrated title page in green. The English translation of this romantic tale, known in German as Erzahlung , was translated here by W. L. Courtney. The heroine of the story, Undine, a beautiful water spirit, marries a knight so that she could have a human soul. The original collector of this book was particularly interested in Rackham s work. The front of the book includes a list of Works Illustrated by Arthur Rackham as well as a copy of a NOTICE of An Exhibition of the Original Water-colour Drawings by ARTHUR RACKHAM, R.W.S. Illustrating Undine and other subjects will be held at the Leicester Galleries Leicester Square, London, from November 20th, 1909 until Christmas. Many of this collector s volumes include the announcement of the sale or exhibition where he purchased the book. It is likely that the Leicester Square exhibit was the venue where this Undine was purchased. The book is in very good condition. There is some age toning on the endpapers - the adhesive used on them may not have been archival. Light age toning on outside edges of text. Some heavier wear to the head and tail of the spine (see photos). The tissue guard for The Infancy of Undine is present but separated at the spine, some mull on tissue edges.
Seller: Heirloom Collective, Stonington, ME, U.S.A.
Price: US$219.47 + shipping
Description: Tela editoriale con titoli e ricchi decori impressi in oro al ds. e al piatto anteriore (piccola fenditura alla cerniera antriore, lievi difetti al ds. e ai margini). Taglio superiore scuro. Carte di guardia illustrate. Firmetta di appartenenza all occhietto e minime bruniture sulle carte iniziali e finali, peraltro esemplare in più che buono stato di conservazione. Prima edizione ( trade edition ) illustrata da Rackham. Hudson, p. 168. 8vo (cm. 25), VIII-136 pp. con 15 tavole a colori f.t. applicate su cartoncino e protette da velina parlante (di cui una in antiporta).
Seller: Libreria Ex Libris ALAI-ILAB/LILA member, Roma, Italy
de la motte fouqué. undine. london,william heinemann 1909, 1909.
Price: US$219.47 + shipping
Description: adapted from the german by w.l.courtney amd illustrated by arthur rackham Gewicht in Gramm: 550 widmung auf vorsatz,gebrauchsspuren,innen sauber
Seller: Antiquariat Walter Nowak, göttingen, Germany
Price: US$222.60 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: A good copy of the 1st edition in the original decorative cloth binding with decorative endpapers and 15 colour plates by Arthur Rackham. Top page edges blue - bottom edges untrimmed. The plates have captioned tissue-guards. Numerous black and white designs and illustrations. The binding has some edge/corner wear, a little fading to the spine and slight nibbling to top and bottom of spine. There is a slight fade to the outer edge of the front board but the beautiful gilt titles and decoration are clean and bright; and a little spotting to the back board. The whole book has a very slight lean. The decorative endpapers have slight browning - the front pastedown has an ink ownership signature. There is a tissue guarded frontispiece and decorative title page. The contents are in very good condition being clean with only the very occasional spot - the colour plates are beautiful. The tissue guard to plate 11 has a crease. A good copy.
Seller: ecbooks, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
Price: US$222.60 + shipping
Description: pp. viii, 136. Frontispiece and 14 coloured plates, decorated end-papers, numerous text line drawings, all by Rackham. Publisher's blue cloth gilt, the spine faded, worn at ends and beginning to split at one side, old and faded damp-marking at the edges of the boards just showing on the end-papers but not affecting the text, scattered foxing.
Seller: Patrick Pollak Rare Books ABA ILAB, SOUTH BRENT, DEVON, United Kingdom
Price: US$237.87 + shipping
Description: Hardback, 4to; 10 x 7.5 ins. In blue cloth covers with extensive gilt decoration to spine and decorative gilt lettering and illustrated vignette to front. Pictorial endpapers. Top edges olivine. In very good condition. Some rubbing to edges and corners. Else cloth bright. Endpapers darkened with two inscriptions, slight foxing to edge of half-title page. A couple of handling marks to front tissue guard. some light foxing spots to page edges, and some slight tanning to plate-mounts, plates all clean and bright, Page 97 has tear on fore edge. Else a very clean and tight copy. --- Beautifully illustrated by Arthur Rackham. This is the tale of a knight?s marriage to a water-sprite, and what chanced therefrom. Rackham creates a stirring progression of emotional vignettes guided continuously by exquisite grace, lyricism, and romantic expression. His figures twist and sway with beauty and allure. Although the waves and eddies of Undine bear the mark of Art Nouveau, the work was still another step forward for Rackham, the unity of conception in the line drawings and the colour plates, the assertion of contrast in the moods of the heroine, rendering it a masterpiece of sympathetic understanding. 136pp. 15 colour mounted plates with titled tissue guards. Plus head and tail pieces.
Seller: PROCTOR / THE ANTIQUE MAP & BOOKSHOP, DORCHESTER, United Kingdom
Price: US$240.41 + shipping
Description: 250mm x 190mm (10" x 7"). viii, 136pp + plates. 11 tipped-in colour plates. VG : in Very good condition without dust jacket. Cover rubbed with edge-wear. Corners bumped. Endpapers browned. Sporadic light foxing throughout
Seller: Barter Books Ltd, Alnwick, NORTH, United Kingdom
FOUQUE, De La Motte. RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.). Undine.. William Heinemann, London, 1909.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Description: Adapted from the German by W. L. Courtney. viii, 136 pp. Illustrated with a frontispiece and 14 tipped-in color plates by Arthur Rackham with captioned tissue overleaves. Small folio, publisher's blue gilt cloth. First trade edition. Some light spots to endleaves; some very light rubbing to cloth at extremities; a very attractive copy. A small flyer printed in red, announcing a 1910 Arthur Rackham Exhibition at Leicester Galleries is laid in.
Seller: Jeffrey H. Marks, Rare Books, ABAA, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: 4to. 25.5 by 19 cm. viii, 136 pp. 15 tipped-in color plates. Minor edgewear, with a touch of corner bumping. Clean and tight.
Seller: White Fox Rare Books, ABAA/ILAB, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Fouque, Motte, De La and Rackham, Arthur,:. Undine,. London William Heinemann, 1909.
Price: US$254.40 + shipping
Description: First Edition: Hardback, gold titles and illustration on front bd., gold titles and illustrations on spine, 190 x 255 mm., 1kg (extra postage), 136 pp., adapted fom the German by W. L. Courtney, illustrated throughout by Arthur Rackham with tipped-in full-page, full-colour illustrations with tissue guards and line drawing in the text, illustrated eps., previous owners' names on ffep., date 1909 and 1928, light edge wear, no dw., VG copy.
Seller: Stephen Wilkinson Fine Books, Near Ventnor, Isle of Wight, IOW, United Kingdom
DE LA MOTTE-FOUQUE. Undine. William Heinemann, London, 1909.
Price: US$281.91 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Quarto. Gilt lettered and decorated quarter green buckram over olive rough paper boards lettered in green. 14 tissue guarded tipped in colour plates by Rackham plus colour frontis. Significant edgewear to boards but o/w a very nice clean copy of one of Rackham's stronger efforts.
Seller: Karol Krysik Books ABAC/ILAB, IOBA, PBFA, Toronto, ON, Canada
La Motte Fouqué, G.. Undine. William Heinemann, London, 1909.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Description: First Rackham Tarde Edition. 15 mounted color illustrations and various other black and white illustrations throughout the text by Arthur Rackham. 136pp. 4to. Publisher's blue cloth. About fine 15 mounted color illustrations and various other black and white illustrations throughout the text by Arthur Rackham. 136pp. 4to
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$300.67 + shipping
Description: Illustrazioni in verde al frontespizio e ai risguardi in b/n n.t.e 15 tavolea colori applicate f.t., tutte protette da velinaparlante, esclusoil frontespizio, diArthur Rackham. Ed. William Heinemann - London,1909. Tela editoriale con lieve scoloritura del tempo alle cerniere del dorso e minime fioriture ai risguardi. Dedica del tempo in antiporta.Peraltro freschissimo e pulito. 19x26; pp.136. Raro e in Buonissimo stato. , Molto buono (Very Good)
Seller: L'Angolo del Collezionista di B. Pileri, Rignano Flaminio, RM, Italy
Price: US$351.15 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition. Quarto. Original publisher's blue cloth binding in very good condition with minimal wear at spine ends, gilt titles and decoration very fresh, Printed end papers excellent; inside very good. .viii, 136pp. With the 15 tipped-in colour plates, tissue-guards. text and plates in perfect condition; beautiful copy of this edition.
Seller: Magnus, Paris, France
Price: US$381.61 + shipping
Description: , viii, 136 pages, 15 tipped in colour plates by Arthur Rackham and further black and white in text illustrations First Edition thus , corners and spine rubbed, cloth and gilt bright, foxing to endpapers, pages and plates clean, binding firm, book in very good condition , dustwrapper slightly rubbed at edges with small tear to fore edge and small chips to spine, good condition , blue cloth with gilt illustration to front and spine, illustrated endpapers, blue top edge , large octavo, 26 cm x 20 cm Hardback ISBN:
Seller: Keoghs Books, Skipton, United Kingdom
Fouque, De La Motte. Undine. William Heinemann 1909, London, 1909.
Price: US$381.61 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: viii, 136 pp. First edition. Blue gilt decorated cloth with illustrated dust jacket. Jacket slightly edgeworn with front panel loose. Minor mottling to the edges of the board, gilt decoration bright. Minor shaking to the binding. Some spotting to the extremities. First edition to be illustrated by Arthur Rackham, complete with 15 tipped in colour plates. 4to sized bound in 8s binding: 26 by 19 cm. 4to. Illustrated
Seller: Foster Books - Stephen Foster - ABA, ILAB, & PBFA, London, United Kingdom
Price: US$595.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First printing; no additional printings. 1909 at title page. Dk. green textured boards, dk. green tweed spine wrap, black embossed cover design, gilt embossed titles and design, moderate shelf wear. Front cover w/Rackham depiction of Undine the mermaid on sea floor, head in hands, as fish swim about her. Flourishing sharp gilt decoration to spine. Heavy stock leaves, fine. Frontipiece plate of Undine dancing: "Undine outside the window". Stylish title page w/illustrated banners of mermaids in deco pattern above and fish in similar pattern below titles. Monochromatic illustrated endpapers by Arthur Rackham; design in green of Undine w/castle in b.g. while various orgres, elves, and creatures look down upon from branches and huddle off to side. Includes contents and list of illustrations. Bind fine; hinges intact. Rare dust wrapper, gilt cover and spine titles, design, matching boards, moderate discoloration, some chip; protected in new clear sleeve. Clean very good first edition rarity in original intact pictorial dj. Enchantingly illustrated by Arthur Rackham w/fifteen tipped-in color plates, mounted on matte leaves, each with a captioned tissue guard, and nearly forty drawings & designs as openings, headers and tail-pieces. This is the charming and dramatic story of Undine and the Knight Huldbrand of Ringstetten. The Knight wedded with a water-sprite, and what chanced captures the fantastic of age-old lore. Then, how the Knight died and was buried, and how Undine returned to her element beneath the Mediterranean. Printed by Ballantyne & Co. Limited, Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London. Illustrations by Hentschel Colourtype. 136 pages. Insured post. Size: 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall
Seller: The BiblioFile, Rapid River, MI, U.S.A.
De La Motte Fouque, F. Undine. William Heinemann, London, 1909.
Price: US$600.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: Original vellum-backed printed boards. Fifteen plates. Number 107 of an edition of 250 copies for the United States. Signed by Rackham. New vellum spine; cover corners and edges worn.
Seller: By Books Alone, Woodstock, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$695.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: True FIRST AMERICAN LIMITED EDITION, MUCH SCARCER THAN THE BRITISH. Signed by Rackham, number 228 of 250. Originally owned by one Ellen Gleason of Charleston , SC, with her name and date of Christmas, 1922 neatly penned on front end paper. A very good copy with lovely boards, title and motif in gilt, vellum spine. 212 old book. Collated, all 14 plates plus frontispiece in very good condition, with the cardstock backing and tissue guards. Binding tight, hinges strong, corners very good. Foxing is very light, most text unfoxed, with the majority of the foxing on the tissue guards. Over all, given age , a near fine copy of a very scare book, but to avoid quibble I shall say "Very good"> Nice. Shipped boxed and insured. Original shelf
Seller: Atlantic Books, Mars Hill, NC, U.S.A.
Price: US$763.21 + shipping
Description: First trade edition, first impression, this copy handsomely bound by the leading British bookbinders Bayntun-Riviere. This publication "was still another step forward for Rackham, the unity of conception in the line drawings and the colour plates, and the assertion of contrast in the moods of the heroine, rendered it a masterpiece of sympathetic understanding" (Hudson, p. 80). The fairy tale of Undine, a water spirit who marries a human knight to acquire an immortal soul, was first published in German in 1811. Latimore & Haskell, pp. 34-5; Riall, pp. 93-4. Derek Hudson, Arthur Rackham, His Life and Work, 1975. Quarto (239 x 176 mm). Mid 20th-century dark blue morocco by Bayntun (Rivière), spine with raised bands, lettering and elaborate gilt decoration in compartments, double gilt fillet frame on covers, gilt design of lilies, lily pads, and fish, board edges and turn ins tooled in gilt, marbled endpapers, edges gilt. Colour frontispiece and 14 colour plates each mounted on plain paper in a grey printed frame with captioned tissue guards, title page printed in green and black, black and white drawings in the text. Spine slightly faded, a few spots of faint foxing to contents, otherwise clean. A very good copy.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
FOUQUE, De La Motte. RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.). Undine.. William Heinemann, London, 1909.
Price: US$850.00 + shipping
Description: Adapted from the German by W. L. Courtney. viii, 136 pp. Illustrated with a frontispiece and 14 tipped-in color plates by Arthur Rackham with captioned tissue overleaves. Folio, publisher's full gilt vellum, t.e.g. (ribbon ties absent). First edition; No. 452 of 1000 copies signed by Arthur Rackham. Some overall light dust-soiling to the boards, including the spine; tight and sound; contents fine.
Seller: Jeffrey H. Marks, Rare Books, ABAA, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.
FOUQUE, De La Motte. RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.). Undine.. William Heinemann, London, 1909.
Price: US$850.00 + shipping
Description: Adapted from the German by W. L. Courtney. viii, 136 pp. Illustrated with a frontispiece and 14 tipped-in color plates by Arthur Rackham with captioned tissue overleaves. Folio, publisher's full gilt vellum, t.e.g. (ribbon ties absent). First edition; No. 512 of 1000 copies signed by Arthur Rackham. Small gift inscription on front free endpaper; lower corner of the mount only (not the plate) of the frontispiece creased; vellum slightly soiled, more so at the spine; but still an attractive copy.
Seller: Jeffrey H. Marks, Rare Books, ABAA, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.
FOUQUE, De La Motte. RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.). Undine.. William Heinemann, London, 1909.
Price: US$850.00 + shipping
Description: Adapted from the German by W. L. Courtney. viii, 136 pp. Illustrated with a frontispiece and 14 tipped-in color plates by Arthur Rackham with captioned tissue overleaves. Folio, publisher's vellum-backed gilt-decorated boards, t.e.g. First edition; No. 108 of 1000 copies signed by Arthur Rackham. Older institutional bookplate on pastedown; small number stamp on contents page; boards lightly soiled;; otherwise very nice.
Seller: Jeffrey H. Marks, Rare Books, ABAA, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$915.86 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: A good to very good copy of the 1st limited edition signed by Arthur Rackham in the original full vellum binding with tipped in frontispiece and 14 further tipped in colour plates. No 116 of a 1,000 printed. Top page edges gilted, remainder untrimmed. The untrimmed edges are slightly spotted. Plates on brown stock paper with captioned tissue-guards. Numerous black and white designs and illustrations. The binding has bright gilt decoration and titles but the vellum is pitted throughout. There is light wear to corners. The remains of the original ties are present. Internally the book is complete and in near fine clean condition. There is the odd spot, mainly to tissue guards and light toning to pages adjacent to the brown stock paper that supports the plates. The final page and the half title which are adjacent to the brown endpapers are also lightly toned. Please enquire if you would like to see additional images.
Seller: ecbooks, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
Fouque, De La Motte. Undine. William Heinemann: Doubleday, Page & Co, London: New York, 1909.
Price: US$985.82 + shipping
Description: First Rackham edition, number 111 (of 1,000) of the deluxe issue, signed by the illustrator. In Undine, the tale of a water nymph in love with a mortal knight, Rackham creates elegant and acrobatic underwater figures amongst 'greeny blue reedy depths with the sun filtering through.' He achieved the sense of underwater suspension in the drawings by having models pose upon a trapeze set up in his studio (Hamilton, p. 101). 15 tipped in tissue-guarded colour plates, pp. viii, 136. Bound in vellum with gilt vignette depicting Undine stamped to front board as well as gilt stamped titles, gilt decorations and titles to spine, deckled edges, top edge gilt, taupe endpapers. folio. Vellum lightly soiled, half-title and final page toned, some instances of very light foxing but overall plates and pages bright and clean, binding firm, boards a little bowed, silk ties not present.
Seller: Keoghs Books, Skipton, United Kingdom
De La Motte Fouque, Friedrich. UNDINE. William Heinemann, 1909.
Price: US$1074.35 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 1st 1909. Very good condition with no wrapper. Deluxe edition limited to 1,000 SIGNED copies. Bound in vellum with gilt decoration to spine, gilt title and vignette to front. 15 beautiful tipped-in colour plates with tissue guards. 30 b/w drawings. SIGNED by illustrator. Copy no. 683. Book: all plates present. Spine darkened, cover edges grubby. Contents clean and bright. Packaged with care and promptly dispatched!
Seller: Stella & Rose's Books, PBFA, Tintern, MON, United Kingdom
Price: US$1200.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: SIGNED FIRST EDITION, limited edition (#15 of 250). Quarter paper vellum spine and hardcover boards. Gilt lettering on the front cover. No lettering on the spine as issued. No previous owner's names, not exlibrary. One of Rackham's less common titles, this features 15 very beautiful tipped-in color plates (with printed guards) plus numerous text illustrations in line. Overall in EXCELLENT condition. A good gift. Photos available upon request.
Seller: Hirschfeld Galleries, Saint Louis, MO, U.S.A.
Price: US$1208.42 + shipping
Description: Deluxe edition, number 168 of 1000 copies signed by Rackham. This publication "was still another step forward for Rackham, the unity of conception in the line drawings and the colour plates, and the assertion of contrast in the moods of the heroine, rendered it a masterpiece of sympathetic understanding" (Hudson, p. 80). The fairy tale of Undine, a water spirit who marries a human knight to acquire an immortal soul, was first published in German in 1811. Latimore & Haskell pp. 34-5; Riall pp. 93-4. Derek Hudson, Arthur Rackham, His Life and Work, 1975. Quarto. Mid 20th-century green half morocco, spine with raised bands, compartments lettered and framed in gilt, green cloth sides ruled in gilt, preserving original endpapers, top edge gilt, others uncut. Housed in a custom green cloth slipcase. Colour frontispiece and 14 colour plates each mounted on plain paper in a grey printed frame with captioned tissue guard, title page printed in green and black, black and white drawings in the text. Gift inscription to half-title dated 6 June 1910. Spine faded, intermittent light offsetting from plates, otherwise clean, a very good copy.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Arthur Rackham (ill). Undine (signed limited edition). William Heinemann, 1909.
Price: US$1350.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: "Undine" by Friedrich de la Motte Pouque and ill. by Rackham. London: William Heinemann/New York: Doubleday, Page & Co. 1909 limited edition: #278/1,000 copies signed by Rackham. 4to. 136 pp. Translated from the German by W.L. Courtney. Illustrated with 15 mounted color plates, including frontispiece, plus 30 black and white in-text illustrations. Publisher's deluxe full vellum binding, stamped in gilt, silk ties wanting; top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed; offsetting from plates and mounting paper to text block; book-plate on front paste-down. Latimore and Haskell, p. 34-35; Riall, p. 93-94.
Seller: Neverland Books, waalre, Netherlands
Price: US$1409.57 + shipping
Description: 4to. 27cm, The First Edition, Limited to 1000 numbered andSigned copies, this being No. 605, Signed by Rackham, viii,136p., With15 tipped in colour plates on brown extra stock paper, with titled fullpage tissue guards, and 30 black & white text illustrations, In finesigned binding: "Bound by Bayntun (Riviere), Bath, England". In fullgreen crushed morocco, decorated raised bands, gilt floral centre paneldecoration with additional gilt decoration in the corner in gilt ruledborders, gilt titles, gilt floral decoration on the boards in single giltruled borders, gilt roll decoration on the board edges, wide giltdecorated and ruled dentelles, Cockerell marbled endpapers, all edgesgilt, spine slightly toned, stamping is bright, a fine copy in finebinding.
Seller: J. Patrick McGahern Books Inc. (ABAC), Ottawa, ON, Canada
De La Motte Fouque, Friedrich. UNDINE. William Heinemann, 1909.
Price: US$1441.20 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 1st 1909. Very good condition with no wrapper. Deluxe edition limited to 1,000 SIGNED copies. Bound in vellum with gilt decoration to spine, gilt title and vignette to front. 15 beautiful tipped-in colour plates with tissue guards. 30 b/w drawings. Copy no. 156 SIGNED by Rackham. Covers slightly grubby. Silk ties missing. Some light foxing to contents (mainly to tissue guards). All plates present and in fine condition. This copy would make a wonderful gift. Packaged with care and promptly dispatched!
Seller: Stella & Rose's Books, PBFA, Tintern, MON, United Kingdom
Price: US$1500.00 + shipping
Description: Limited Edition, Signed by Arthur Rackham RACKHAM, Arthur, [illustrator]. COURTNEY, W.L., [translator]. LA MOTTE FOUQUÉ, Friedrich, Baron de. Undine. By De La Motte Fouque. Adapted from the German by W.L. Courtney and illustrated by Arthur Rackham. London: William Heinemann, 1909. One of 1,000 copies signed by Rackham, of which this is number 809. Quarto. viii, 136 pp. Fifteen color plates mounted on brown paper with descriptive tissue guards, and thirty black and white text illustrations. Original full vellum. Front cover and spine lettered and pictorially stamped in gilt. With cream silk ties. Brown endpapers. Top edge gilt, others uncut. Vellum a bit rubbed and soiled, bookplate, new ties. Very good. Latimore and Haskell, 34-35. Riall, HBS 67120. $1,500.
Seller: Heritage Book Shop, ABAA, Beverly Hills, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$1590.03 + shipping
Description: First Rackham edition, deluxe issue, number 109 of 1,000 copies signed by the illustrator. This publication "was still another step forward for Rackham, the unity of conception in the line drawings and the colour plates, and the assertion of contrast in the moods of the heroine, rendered it a masterpiece of sympathetic understanding" (Hudson, p. 80). The fairy tale of Undine, a water spirit who marries a human knight to acquire an immortal soul, was first published in German in 1811. Latimore & Haskell, pp. 34-5; Riall, pp. 93-4. Derek Hudson, Arthur Rackham, His Life and Work, 1975. Quarto. Original vellum, spine and front cover decorated and lettered in gilt, brown endpapers, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Colour frontispiece and 14 colour plates each mounted on brown paper with captioned tissue guard, black and white drawings in the text, title page printed in green and black. Copy of Joanne Mott, "Undine, a Philosophical Interpretation", Pendle Hill Bulletin, no. 130, April 1956 mounted on rear pastedown. Mid-century ownership inscription of one Polly Oakley Hewitt on front free endpaper and contemporary ownership inscription of one F. H. Hague dated 20/2/14 on half-title. Natural discolouration to vellum, lacking original ties, occasional browning from mounts, short closed tear to fore-edge of p. 30; a very good copy.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Price: US$1750.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Beautifully signed at limitation page by Arthur Rackham: "This Edition is limited to one Thousand numbered and Signed Copies for Great Britain, Ireland and Colonies of which this is No. '200', 'Arthur Rackham'". 1909 at title page. Extra large 9 1/2" x 11 7/8" design. Cream colored vellum (leather) boards, gilt impressed cover and spine titles, designs, moderate shelf wear, some spotting, discoloration. Front cover with Rackham rendition of Undine the mermaid on sea floor, head in hands, as fish swim about her. Very ornately designed gilt titles and fish, decoration. Rough-cut deckled leaves, very good, clean; moderate toning at endpapers. Top text block edge with even cut and gilded. Frontipiece plate of Undine dancing: "Undine outside the window". Stylish title page with illustrated banners of mermaids in deco pattern above and fish in similar pattern below titles. Matte brown endpapers. Includes contents and list of illustrations. Bind fine, square; hinges intact. Two golden brown ribbons originally attached through slits of front & back boards, set into volume, some crease. Very good, sharp interior and plates w/some spotting to exterior. Enchantingly illustrated by Arthur Rackham w/fifteen tipped-in color plates, mounted on matte leaves, each with a captioned fine tissue guard, and nearly forty drawings & designs as vignettes, headers and tail-pieces. This is the charming and dramatic story of the Knight Huldbrand of Ringstetten and of Undine. And how the Knight wedded with a water-sprite, and what chanced therefrom. Then, how the Knight died and was buried, and how Undine returned to her element beneath the Mediterranean Sea. Printed by Ballantyne & Co. Limited, Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London. Illustrations by Hentschel Colourtype. 136 pages. Insured post. Size: 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall
Seller: The BiblioFile, Rapid River, MI, U.S.A.
Price: US$1850.00 + shipping
Description: "A Masterpiece of Sympathetic Understanding" Edition de Luxe Signed by the Artist [RACKHAM, Arthur, illustrator]. FOUQUE, De La Motte. Undine. Adapted from the German by W.L. Courtney and Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. London / New York: William Heinemann / Doubleday, Page & Co., 1909. Edition de Luxe, limited to 1000 large-paper copies signed by the artist, this being copy no. 226. Quarto. Fifteen color plates mounted on brown art paper, with captioned tissue guards. Head- tailpieces. Handsomely rebound ca. 1960 by Bayntun (Rivière) in full blue crushed levant morocco. Covers decoratively bordered in gilt, spine with five raised bands, decoratively tooled and lettered in gilt in compartments, gilt board edges and turn-ins, cockerel end-papers, top edge gilt, others uncut. There is a very slight 2 1/2 inch crack on the upper joint (but still sound), otherwise a very fine copy. Housed in a fleece-lined, light blue cloth slip-case. "With the aqueous world of Undine Rackham found an opportunity to revive and develop his earlier art nouveau linear decorative drawing. especially in the need to incorporate waves and water currents in his pictures. He was thus able to connect a felicitious quality of decoration into his plates, was well as a new feeling for flat pattern which harks back to fin de siècle without being too openly mannered" (Gettings, Arthur Rackham, p. 123). "Although the waves and eddies of Undine bear the mark of Art Nouveau, the work was still another step forward for Rackham, the unity of conception in the line drawings and the colour plates, the assertion of contrast in the moods of the heroine, rendering it a masterpiece of sympathetic understanding" (Hudson, p. 80). Latimore and Haskell p. 34. Riall p. 93.
Seller: David Brass Rare Books, Inc., Calabasas, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$1908.03 + shipping
Description: Signed limited edition, number 464 of 1000 copies signed by the artist. Large octavo. Finely bound by the Chelsea Bindery in recent full blue morocco, gilt titles, box design and raised bands to spine, gilt rule to boards, gilt titles and pictorial decoration to front board, gilt inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. With 15 mounted colour plates as issued, captioned tissues. Sunning to spine as well as areas of fading to boards, faint stains to rear board. A very good copy.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Price: US$1918.90 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: One of the less common of Rackham's works and a beautiful example from the Golden Age of Illustration. It tells of a water-sprite, Undine, who can gain an immortal soul only through marriage to a mortal. The tale is ideally suited to Rackham's art nouveau style, capturing, as he does, both the tale's medieval chivalry and its roots in northern folklore. "It would seem unlikely that one of the most ethereal creatures to capture the imagination of translators and illustrators in the nineteenth-century should have been created by a Prussian officer and inspired by the writings of Paracelsus, the founder of the science of toxicology. Nevertheless, this was the pedigree of Undine, the heroine of Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's romance of the same name, who would inspire operas, ballets and numerous adaptations. Her elusive form can be glimpsed behind Hans Christian Andersen's âThe Little Mermaid' and Dvo ák's Rusalka, a symbol of all that is mysteriously enchanting and ultimately unattainable." [Susan Halstead, Curator Czech and Slovak, British Library]. The legend had great cultural influence inspiring the English writer of the fairy realm, George MacDonald, to declare âof all fairytales I know, I think Undine the most beautiful'. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Provenance: Ex Libris William Crowle; James Fairfax (from his library at Retford Park, Bowral NSW, with bookplate). Bibliography: Latimore and Haskell p. 34. Riall p. 93. Quarto, limited edition of 1000, signed by Rackham, 15 tipped-in colour plates, captioned paper guards, half-title, original pictorial vellum, gilt, very occasional toning; lacks silk ties otherwise very good.
Seller: Rare Illustrated Books, Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Price: US$2000.00 + shipping
Description: Signed limited first edition, number 425 of 1000 copies, of Arthur Rackham's illustrated version of this German tale, first published in 1811. Celebrated for his depictions of fairy creatures, Rackham is ideally suited for this tale of a water spirit seeking a soul: "below sparkle, stately and solemn, many noble ruins, washed by the loving waters which win from them delicate moss-flowers and entwining clusters of sea-grass. Those who dwell there are very fair." Rackham's wave designs, in particular, lend a Japanese woodblock-inspired Art Nouveau element to the work, as in the image of Undine sinking into the Danube. A near-fine example of the best of the Golden Age of Illustration. Quarto, measuring 11.5 x 9 inches: viii, 136. Original full vellum, front board lettered and decorated in gilt with vignette by Rackham, spine elaborately ornamented in gilt, top edge gilt, other edges uncut, stiff brown endpapers. Half-title, with limitation signed by Rackham on verso. Title page printed in green and black. Frontispiece and fourteen full-page color plates tipped onto heavy brown paper with printed tissue guards; black-and-white headpieces and tailpieces by Rackham throughout text. Lacking silk ties. Light bowing and soiling to boards, with a few faint abrasions, some toning to pages adjacent to brown paper leaves.
Seller: Honey & Wax Booksellers, ABAA, Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.