Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Kingsley, Charles. The Water-Babies. Dodd, Mead & Co, New York, 1916.
Price: US$18.75 + shipping
Condition: Poor
Description: Green cloth binding. The spine has been taped with cloth tape. No markings in the text except for a few small library markings. Some pages are wrinkles and have light dust staining. Heavy edge wear. Both hinges have been taped. Normal library attachments. A name has been blacked out on the title page. The paste on the front cover has been mostly removed.
Seller: P Peterson Bookseller, Osseo, WI, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles. The Water-Babies. Dodd, Mead and Co., 1916.
Price: US$24.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Hardcover copy, with decorated boards and no dust jacket; 270 pages; 5 x 7 1/2. Illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith, with color plates and some black and white line drawings. // Lovely copy. Pages free of marks, tear and crease. Lightly age toned. Binding sound. Green cloth-covered boards with rubs head and tail of spine. Gilt titles nearly rubbed from spine, but cover pastedown illustration and titles are bright, unmarked and distinct. Light bump to upper rear corner, and head and tail of spine.
Seller: Whitworth and i - Books, Santa Fe, NM, U.S.A.
Price: US$33.41 + shipping
Description: Good green cloth hardcover, no dustjacket. Frontispiece missing. other plates intact. 270p.
Seller: Rainy Day Books (Australia), The Basin, VIC, Australia
Kingsley, Charles. The Water-Babies. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1916.
Price: US$37.50 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Original publisher's green cloth binding with gilt lettering on front cover and spine. Original tipped-in color plate on front cover of one of the titular "water-babies." 5 1/4" x 7 1/2." 270 pages, complete. Eight full-page color plates, complete. Pages and covers are very clean and intact overall. Pages have the occasional small pencil annotation and a tear affecting Pages 111-112 (a portion appears to have been punched through; text is still complete and readable). Covers have slight wear to the extremities. A Very Good copy. Charles Kingsley (1819-1875) was an English author, professor, and clergyman of the Church of England. He was also a friend of Charles Darwin. Arguably Kingsley's best-known work, The Water-Babies is a children's fable. The story is about the main character, Tom, who must prove himself to be of good moral character after entering the world of fairies. Also within this tale are a number of topics relevant to the author's time. For example, Kingsley had written this novel as a way to satirize the dismissal of Darwin's theory of evolution by contemporary scientists as well as to speak out against child labor in England. The Water-Babies, first published in 1863, was a popular book that retained its popularity into the twentieth century. Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935) was an American illustrator. She was part of the "Golden Age of American Illustration." Smith illustrated for a number of books and magazines including Little Women, A Child's Garden of Verses, Century, Collier's, Harper's, and Good Housekeeping. In 1991, Smith became only the second woman to be inducted into the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame. The illustrations she made for The Water-Babies were among her most famous.
Seller: Barry Cassidy Rare Books, Sacramento, CA, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles. The Water-Babies. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1916.
Price: US$46.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Clean tight copy. While 1916 is on copyright page with no other date listed, this appears to be a later edition. Green boards with black lettering have wear along edges. Previous owner's info plus date of "Christmas, 1952" on fep. Light foxing inside covers. Jacket in mylar has a couple nicks, small tears and creases and triangular clip. Written for his youngest son, Kingsley includes tales of travels, fairies, men of science, Pandora's box, the ways of beasts and birds, fishes and insects, of plant and tree and rock, of rive and tide all interwoven with the deepest truths of life, of morals and religion--enchanting the child and giving the wise man food for thought. Wonderful b/w pen and ink type illustrations. 270 pp.
Seller: Second Edition Books, Butte, MT, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles. The Water Babies. Dodd, Mead & Company, 1916.
Price: US$72.50 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Hard Cover - Good - No dust jacket if issued - Other than discoloration to back cover book is tight with light wear - Illustrated - 270 pages.
Seller: gigabooks, Spokane, WA, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles. The Water-Babies. Dodd, Mead & Company, 1916.
Price: US$75.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Early printing in attractive bright covers with excellent color. Black & white drawings by Jessie Willcox Smith. Publication date 1916, but likely second printing with plain green covers. Clean & tight with no ownership marks and good firm binding with perfect hinges. Minor wear to corner tips, and front with shallow diagonal wrinkle in the binding fabric. Sharp & clear black lettering to covers. Ends with small age spots. Plain tan paper jacket with strong lettering, fading to spine, chips & moderate light staining, but now looks neat in mylar wrapper.
Seller: Eve's Book Garden, Albany, CA, U.S.A.
KINGSLEY, Charles. The Water Babies. Dodd, Mead & Co, New York, 1916.
Price: US$75.00 + shipping
Description: Illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith with 8 color plates; many other b/w figures in-text. xvi, 270 pages. Short 8vo, original pale green cloth with inset pictorial label (cloth is lightly sunned on spine and edges). New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1916. An early smaller format edition, issued with only 8 color plates. A very good(+) attractive copy.
Seller: Argosy Book Store, ABAA, ILAB, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles. THE WATER-BABIES. Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, NY, U.S.A., 1916.
Price: US$89.98 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: 1916, 8 vo, green cl cv. paste on color pict., gilt letter, crns sl bent & scuffed ow g ++. all prints present, 8 by Jessie Willcox Smith, int tight & good, delightful illust. 270 pp. decorated ep 's
Seller: Betty Mittendorf /Tiffany Power BKSLINEN, Ralston, NE, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles. The Water-Babies. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1916.
Price: US$95.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: 8vo. 362pp. Gilt decorated green cloth with pictorial paste-down and gilt lettering to cover and spine. Head and tail of spine frayed. Head and tail of backstrip loose but attached. Wear to corners and edges. Some scuffing, minor discoloration and staining to boards. Illustrated endpapers. Bookplate of previous owner to front endpaper. Illustrated half title and title page. Frontispiece. A captivating children's tale wonderfully illustrated with full page color-and in-text duo-tone drawings by Jessie Wilcox Smith. Binding in fair, interior in very good condition.
Seller: ERIC CHAIM KLINE, BOOKSELLER (ABAA ILAB), Santa Monica, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$99.99 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1916. First edition with the Jessie Willcox Smith illustrations. Worn but sound copy with all 12 tipped on color plates present. Green cloth with color illustration mounted on the front cover, 362 pages. Covers a little soiled, wear to the extremities, front hinge internally lightly cracked but secure, text block sound, endpapers a bit speckled, pages and plates clean with a gift notation on the front free endpaper, no other markings. One plate has a small crease to the lower corner. Faint odor of kerosene which should dissipate over time. . First Edition Thus. Hard Cover. Fair. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.
Seller: Resource Books, LLC, East Granby, CT, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles. The Water Babies. Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, 1916.
Price: US$100.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith. Very Good. Green cloth, faded at the spine, lightly soiled on the boards, pushed at the corners. Square, bound with some reading wear, gift inscription inside the front board, clean otherwise. A later edition of Kingsley's fairy tales featuring Willcox Smith's classic illustrations.
Seller: Carpetbagger Books, Woodstock, IL, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles. THE WATER-BABIES. New York, Dodd, Mead & Co., 1916.
Price: US$100.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: 1st edition, 2nd issue with plain end papers. Original green cloth, title in gilt to spine and front, with round pictorial color paste-down of two babies playing in surf enclosed by two gilt rings. Showing some very slight wear to ends and corners, no chips or tears. No names or writing on the end papers or in the text. Frontispiece and 11 color plates and numerous text illustrations printed in green and black by Jessie Willcox Smith. 362 numbered pages, clean and tight in the binding.
Seller: BookSearch, St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.
Charles Kingsley. The Water Babies. Dodd, Mead & co., New York, 1916.
Price: US$100.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Quarto. (10 1/2" x 8") Green cloth with color pictorial circular plate mounted to front cover. 362pp. Color pictorial endpaper . Twelve full page color illustrations by Jessie Willcox Smith as well as others in black and white. Name of former owner on front endpaper. Gutters tight. Some fraying at head and tail of spine.
Seller: Midway Book Store (ABAA), St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.
Kingsley Charles. The water-babies. Dodd, Mead,, New York, 1916.
Price: US$100.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: green cloth, gilt spine, pictorial front cover, (full colour illustration in circular inset) 362 pages, 12 unnumbered leaves of coloured plates tipped-in : illustrations,(line drawings in text), light wear to all edges, covers a bit dull, front hinge cracked but holding, all of Wilcox's magnificent plates are present in fine condition.
Seller: Harry E Bagley Books Ltd, Fredericton, NB, Canada
Kingsley, Charles. The Water-Babies (1916). Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1916.
Price: US$122.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Green boards, gilt lettering on spine and front, pasted-on circular illustration on front of 2 water-babies playing in the surf. Twelve exquisite illustrations mounted on gray sheets and attached at the top edge, 362 numbered pages. Bumped and rubbed on ends of spine, corners rubbed, 3 small (1/8 inch) smudges on front. Faint smudge (1/2 inch) on top edge. Cracked at ffep and front board loosened, but remaining binding tight. "Printed in U.S.A." stamped in ink on Copyright page. Illustrations lightly chipped along top edge where attached to backing and lightly rubbed in places along lower edge. Illustration page 272 has tear (1.5 inch) on top right corner but picture intact, small crease on lower left corner and a thin white strip (2 inch) from opposite page has adhered to gray backing paper. Page 16 has small closed tear (1/2 inch) at top edge, nick in top edge of page 17. Sparse smudges and thumbing. Overall, very good plus. Note: heavy book. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
Seller: Lindenlea Books, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Price: US$125.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Quarto (10 1/4" x 8" x 1 7/8"), green cloth with gold lettering on spine & front cover with circular color lithograph pastedown of water babies playing in the surf by Jessie Willcox Smith, who has illustrated the volume with a colored frontispiece,11 full-page color glossy plates, & in-text black-&-green sketches as headpieces, tailpieces & frequent marginalia; archival mylar added to protect cloth, pictorial endpapers with water-babies riding fish by Smith, 262 pages. Weight: 3 lbs. 11 oz. Overall NEAR FINE CONDITION internally & externally of this marvellous, enduring classic here illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith. Solid copy with some moderate cover and edgewear. Bright glossy color plates: all present. A 1/4" spot in lower border edge of plate facing p.344, & a light finger smudge in margin of plate facing p.290. A few light finger smudges here and there in page margins. No entries by previous owners. Mylar added for protection. Jessie Willcox Smith (1863 - 1935) was an important American illustrator during the Golden Age of American illustration. She is considered "one of the greatest pure illustrators" of classics (often those associated with children). Rev. Charles Kingsley (1819-75) was a Broad-church Evangelical, historian, & professor-turned-novelist best known for The Water Babies, a fantasy novel (serialized in 1862; published in 1863). It follows a young chimney sweep named Tom and his adventures with fairies.
Seller: Borg Antiquarian, Lake Forest, IL, U.S.A.
Price: US$131.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Solid copy, 1st edition thus. No writing or marks to text; foxing on fore edge side of closed page edges. Includes 12 full-color plates, tipped in on gray base pages. Green cloth cover with circular color paste down of two water babies playing in a foamy wave. Title, paste down frame and author/illustrator's names are embossed in gilt on front cover; gilt is bright and sharp. Title, author's and publisher's names stamped in gilt on spine; slightly dulled. Some light foxing to front and back endpapers; vintage book plate affixed to front free endpaper but no name is present. Light wear to spine ends and corner tips. Some spotting to cloth on inside fore edge of back cover. Binding is firm and square; hinges are solid. Outstanding illustrations throughout. We are unable to ship oversize books and multi-volume sets internationally.
Seller: Lake Country Books and More, Excelsior, MN, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles. THE WATER-BABIES. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1916.
Price: US$143.75 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: 362 pages in good condition. Pages are clean and unmarked with illustrations and colour plates throughout. 2 plates missing (10 of 12 plates). Frontispiece is present but detached from the binding. Page edges are darkened and smudged. Inner hinges are intact, but loose and worn. Bound in green cloth with gilt titles and and nice picture on the front, with only a small chip on the edge. Covers are worn at the corners and ends of the spine. 1ST EDITION. G Size: 4to: 7 1/2 x 10
Seller: J. Wyatt Books, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Kingsley, Charles & Smith, Jessie Willcox. THE WATER-BABIES. Dodd Mead, 1916.
Price: US$145.00 + shipping
Description: THE WATER-BABIES, Dodd - Mead, 1916, first edition thus, some slight cover soil, inner rear hinge just starting, else a vg copy with all tipped-in full color, full page plates by Jessie Willcox Smith present and in fine condition. From the estate of Stanley Sebastian Kresge.
Seller: THE FINE BOOKS COMPANY / A.B.A.A / 1979, ROCHESTER, MI, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles. The Water-Babies. Dodd, Mead, New York, 1916.
Price: US$150.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 1st ptg., 4to full green cloth with gilt titling and round color cover plate inset and 12 full color plates by Jessie Wilcox Smith plus many 2-color partial page drawings and chapter heads. One plate loose, front hinge cracked, rubbing to spine letter and a small frayed area to spine but still a nice bright copy without inscriptions or bookplates.
Seller: Bud Plant & Hutchison Books, Cedar Ridge, CA, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles; Smith, Jessie Willcox (illus). The Water Babies. Dodd Mead, New York, 1916.
Price: US$150.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition Thus. Hardcover. Arguably one of Smith's best works.a wonderful story beautifully illustrated. First edition, second issue. Overall, a handsome copy of this Smith classic. Light shelf/edge wear (tips through), very minor moisture mark at top of text block near head, hint of toning at spine, front hinge starting, else tight and unmarred. Green cloth boards, gilt lettering and decorative elements, color pictorial onlay, tipped-in frontispiece, tipped-in plates on grey printed leaves. Small 4to. 362pp Illus. (color and b/w plates). Very Good+ [Textblock Near Fine] in Near Fine DJ.
Seller: Lux Mentis, Booksellers, ABAA/ILAB, Portland, ME, U.S.A.
KINGSLEY, Charles.. The Water-Babies.. Dodd, Mead & Company,, NY:, 1916.
Price: US$150.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Black and white illustrations throughout. An early reprint edition. Very light offsetting to endpapers from the dust jacket flaps, else very good in a very good (age toning) dust jacket. ; 270 pages
Seller: Grendel Books, ABAA/ILAB, Springfield, MA, U.S.A.
Charles Kingsley. The Water Babies. Dodd, Mead & Co., 1916.
Price: US$150.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Quarto. 10" x 8". 362pp. Green cloth with oval color paste-on to front cover. Gilt letteering to cover and spine. Pictorial endpapers. Twelve full page color illustrations by Jessie Willcox Smith and others by her in black and white The frontispikece page has a water stain on the white border. Does not affect the image. Circular stain (rim of a glass?) on back cover. First edition with Smith's illustrations.
Seller: Midway Book Store (ABAA), St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.
Kingsley Charles. Water-Babies. Toronto : McClelland & Stewart, printed by Dodd and Mead, 1916.
Price: US$150.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: 270 pp,8 illustrations, illustrated front board, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith,wearing edges, 1/2 inch tear at top spine, g/vg. Canadian First of American First.
Seller: footnotes, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Kingsley, Charles. The Water Babies. Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, 1916.
Price: US$200.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: This copy is a first edition with the classic illustrations of Jessie Willcox Smith. Bound in a medium green cloth with faded embossed lettering on spine. Gilt lettering [faded} and center paste-down illustration on front cover. Slight curvature of the bottom edge of covers and textblock; light stain, due to an old spillage - most likely water. Covers are rubbed, front illustration has some discoloration, bleeding. Small 1/4th inch tear at head of spine, no missing or frayed cloth. Hinges and gutters are solid, slight shadowing - early foxing. Text has yellowed with age, complete in binding. Full color Frontis-plate and seven additional full color illustration plates. Numerous black and white line drawings. Size: 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall
Seller: Lowry's Books, Three Rivers, MI, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles. The Water-Babies. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1916.
Price: US$200.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 4to. Dark green cloth with gilt lettering on spine & front cover. Round pictorial, paper paste-down on front cover. 362pp. Color illustrations. Covers bit edge-worn with cloth just worn through at corners. Small black ink name-stamp inside front & rear covers. Soiling on very bottom edge of book. Illustrated end-papers.
Seller: Kevin T. Ransom- Bookseller, Amherst, NY, U.S.A.
KINGSLEY, CHARLES. The Water Babies. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1916.
Price: US$226.18 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 4to. 362pp. Green cloth with gilt lettered spine and front board, with circular image to front board. A few light scuffs and light rubbing to corners and at head and heel of spine. Illustrated throughout, text clean and bright. A good clean copy.
Seller: Karol Krysik Books ABAC/ILAB, IOBA, PBFA, Toronto, ON, Canada
Kingsley, Charles & Smith, Jessie Willcox. THE WATER-BABIES. Dodd Mead, 1916.
Price: US$261.00 + shipping
Description: THE WATER-BABIES, Dodd - Mead, 1916, first edition thus (first issue with art work of babies rolicking in the surf on front cover and pictorial end-papers), slight wear to the fore edge corner tips, else a vg copy with all 12 tipped-in full color, full page plates by Jessie Willcox Smith present and in fine condition.
Seller: THE FINE BOOKS COMPANY / A.B.A.A / 1979, ROCHESTER, MI, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles. The Water-Babies (1916). Dodd, Mead & Company, 1916.
Price: US$295.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: Hardcover in pictorial gilt-stamped bright green cloth with a circular Wilcox Smith color illustration inset on the front cover. Gilt titles to spine. The always charming Wilcox Smith's color illustrations throughout. Book is in fine condition, crisp and clean with tight binding and sharp corners. Gift inscription elegantly penned to the front fly leaf. Large 4to. 362 pp. ; Illustrated By Jessie Willcox Smith; 4to 11" - 13" tall
Seller: KULTURAs books, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles. The Water-Babies. Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, 1916.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Description: Small 4to, 362 pp., Bound in green cloth with gilt lettering and circular mounted illustration on the front board, With 12 color plates by Jessie Willcox Smith and numerous text illustrations printed in green and black Former owner's bookplate, else a nearly fine copy
Seller: Abacus Bookshop, Pittsford, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition with illustrations by Jessie Willcox Smith. Large quarto. Green cloth with applied illustration on paper. Front hinge neatly restored, some soiling on the boards, a nice, very good copy without dustwrapper.
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Charles Kingsley. The Water-Babies. Dodd, Mead, & Company, New York, 1916.
Price: US$346.35 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: A colourfully illustrated edition of Charles Kingsley's immensely popular Victorian children's novel, illustrated in colour throughout by Jessie Willcox Smith. The first thus of Jessie Willcox Smith's illustrations.'The Water-Babies' is a children's fairy tale that was extremely popular when it was published. The novel follows Tom, a young chimney sweep, who falls into a river and is transformed into a water-baby.Illustrated with a colour frontispiece, eleven colour plates, and colour vignettes throughout.Collated, complete.Written by Charles Kingsley. Kingsley was a priest for the Church of England, and was a friend and correspondent of Charles Darwin, writing this novel partly in satire of 'In Origin of Species'.Illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith, active during the Golden Age of American illustrations, contributing to many prominent publications.Bookplate to the reverse of the frontispiece, 'Fiorenza Johnson'. In the original publisher's cloth binding. Externally, smart, with a few light marks to the boards and spine. Light bumping to the head and tail of the spine and to the extremities. A little rubbing to the spine. Internally, generally firmly bound. Pages are bright and clean with a few odd handling marks, very clean for a children's work. Small closed tear to the tail of the frontispiece. Frontispiece is a little wrinkled. Bookplate to the reverse of the frontispiece. Plate facing page 158 is detached but present. Good
Seller: Rooke Books PBFA, Bath, United Kingdom
Kingsley , Charles. THE WATER-BABIES. Dodd & Mead Co., New York, 1916.
Price: US$385.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 1st. Edition , ( USA ) Green cloth with gilt letters at the spine and front board with round illustrated paste down ( baby laying in water ) see image . With eleven color tipped in full page plates and black & white line drawings . A very collectable childrens book . Condition : Very Good with bumped corned light edge ware , a clean tight binding and complete copy . Size: 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall
Seller: Gibbs Books, Buffalo, NY, U.S.A.
Charles Kingsley. The Water-Babies. Dodd, Mead, and Company, New York, 1916.
Price: US$756.83 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: The first edition thus of 'The Water-Babies', the first edition to be illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith, replete with beautiful colour plates. In the original very scarce publisher's box. The first thus of Jessie Willcox Smith's illustrations.In the original very scarce publisher's pictorial cloth box. Box is in a good condition.'The Water-Babies' is a children's fairy tale that was extremely popular when it was published. The novel follows Tom, a young chimney sweep, who falls into a river and is transformed into a water-baby.Illustrated with a tipped-in colour frontispiece, eleven tipped-in colour plates, and half-tone vignettes throughout.Collated, complete.Written by Charles Kingsley. Kingsley was a priest for the Church of England, and was a friend and correspondent of Charles Darwin, writing this novel partly in satire of 'In Origin of Species'.Illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith, active during the Golden Age of American illustrations, contributing to many prominent publications. In the original publisher's cloth binding, in the original publisher's box. Externally, smart. Minor bumping to the head and tail of the spine and to the extremities. A few light marks to the boards and spine. Box is a little worn with some bumping and loss of cloth, one of the corners is split. Light marks to the box. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and clean. Box is in a good condition. Near Fine
Seller: Rooke Books PBFA, Bath, United Kingdom
KINGSLEY, Charles. The Water-Babies. Dodd, Mead & Co, New York, 1916.
Price: US$850.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Color frontispiece, 11 color plates, and many other illustrations throughout by Jessie Willcox Smith. 362pp. Large 4to, handsomely rebound in 1/4 dark green morocco. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., (1916). A near fine copy.
Seller: Argosy Book Store, ABAA, ILAB, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles. The Water Babies. Dodd, Mead, New York, 1916.
Price: US$893.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Green cloth with gilt lettering on spine, gilt lettering and past-down illustration on front cover. Illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith. Half title page has signature of illustrator below a pasted 2" x 3" picture of her. This book was Smith's favorite of those she illustrated. Frontispiece color plate. Slight crease on page. Light foxing on prelims. Eleven additional color plates. Additional illustrations on nearly every page. Most are black and green line drawings. First thus. 362 pp.
Seller: Toadlily Books, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A.
Kingsley, Charles; Smith, Jessie Willcox. THE WATER-BABIES. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1916.
Price: US$1250.00 + shipping
Description: First edition thus, the stunning Smith edition of Kingsley's beloved fairy tale, in original glassine and original box. Jessie Willcox Smith was one of the most successful artists of her day, her art appearing in numerous children's books as well as on the covers of periodicals such as GOOD HOUSEKEEPING. THE WATER-BABIES is one of Smith's best-known titles, and beautifully showcases her delightful blend of the hard outlines of Art Nouveau and the softness of watercolor. This copy in its original publisher's box and glassine is uncommonly sharp. 10'' x 7.25''. Original green cloth with color pictorial onlay. Original glassine. Color frontispiece tipped onto thick grey paper, with 11 color plates tipped onto thick grey paper and black-and-green illustrations throughout. 362 pages. In original publisher's box with green lid and color pictorial onlay. Box lid with some edgewear and infills. Glassine with light edgewear. Binding with a touch of bumping to corners and spine ends. Sharp. Fine in very good plus box and glassine.
Seller: Type Punch Matrix, Silver Spring, MD, U.S.A.