The Book of Saints and Heroes.

LANG, Andrew (1844-1912) [FORD, H.J. (1860-1941), illustrator].

London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1912. [Children's Illustrated Literature] FIRST EDITION, first impression. Octavo (21 x 15cm), pp.[4] xii; 351 [5]. Contemporary brown full calf prize binding with gilt lettering and tooling to upper board and spine, raised bands and red label to spine. Marbled endpapers and textblock edges. Twelve illustrated colour plates including a frontispiece, full-page black and white illustrations throughout. Presentation bookplate to front pastedown addressed to 'Lizzie Blair' for 'general excellence.' Infrequent markings and light spotting throughout (heavier spotting to preliminaries and endpapers), wear to board extremities and joints. Very good. In the preface, Lang reminds the reader that once upon a time 'grown-ups were quite as fond of fairytales as any child' and 'they actually believed in fairies more than some wise and grave little boys and girls do at present.' What follows is a marvellous collection of stories and includes titles such as 'The First of the Hermits', 'St Margaret f Scotland', and 'The Preacher to the Birds'. This copy is in a beautiful prize binding by the Edinburgh Angus Club dated 1913 on the presentation plate. Item #69268

Price: £125.00