Description
A CHILDREN’S LANDMARK—FIRST PUBLISHED CHILDREN’S BOOK BY TWO GIANTS OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE: L. FRANK BAUM AND MAXFIELD PARRISH’S MOTHER GOOSE IN PROSE, 1897, WITH SUPERB LARGE SIGNED ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR AND GOUACHE PAINTING BY PARRISH OF HIMSELF READING THE BOOK ON THE FRONT FREE ENDPAPER, SAID TO HAVE BEEN PRESENTED TO HIS MOTHER
BAUM, L. Frank and PARRISH, Maxfield. Mother Goose in Prose. Chicago: Way & Williams, (1897). Quarto, original gray cloth pictorially stamped in color, spine decoratively stamped in gilt. Housed in custom clamshell box.
First edition of the rare first published juvenile book by both Baum and Parrish— a landmark in the publishing history of children’s books— with illustrated title page and 12 full-page black-and-white plates by Parrish. This copy is enhanced by a large original watercolor and gouache self-caricature by Parrish on the front free endpaper, boldly signed by him. In private hands for over 50 years and on loan to the Delaware Art Museum for the past five.
“The artist and first-time writer were aptly matched… Mother Goose in Prose codified the characteristics of Parrish’s fairy-tale phase, with its requisite medieval castles and costumes, into a visual language that he would employ in a wide range of future commissions” (Yount, 46-47). In the copy Baum presented to his sister, he wrote, “I have learned to regard fame as a will-o-the-wisp which, when caught, is not worth the possession; but to please a child is a sweet and lovely thing that warms one’s heart and brings its own reward” (Hearn, xxviii). Although Mother Goose in Prose “ultimately proved to be more an artistic than financial triumph… [Baum] had finally found a vocation; it would quickly bring him a success he’d never imagined, an imperishable fame— and lead directly to the Emerald City” (Fricke, 22). A little farm girl named Dorothy is featured in the last story in this volume, and there is some speculation that she is the inspiration for the Dorothy who later became the heroine of Oz. “The volume was not a collaboration in the true sense of the word, for the author and the artist never met. Imaginative in concept and executed with confidence and originality, the illustrations brought Parrish immediate recognition as a young book illustrator of ability. An expression of strong individuality, the illustrations portray a bygone era that is the unique domain of the nursery rhyme or fairy tale. This series of black-and-white drawings illustrates Parrish’s mastery of complicated technique and his ability to combine several media to achieve the desired effect. ‘Humpty-Dumpty’ and ‘The Man in the Moon,’ which at first glance appear to be pen-and-ink drawings, actually combine pen and ink, collage, Rossboard, and, in the latter drawing, lithographic crayon” (Ludwig, 25). The large original watercolor and gouache painting on the front free endpaper is exquisite, representing the bespectacled Parrish with this very book in hand, flamboyantly signed by him. The shoes in the painting are executed on a strip pasted at the bottom of the page.“Copies today are quite rare” (Franklin, 30). This extraordinary copy is said to have been presented by Parrish to his mother. It has been in private hands for over 50 years and has, for the past five years, been on loan to the Delaware Art Museum. Bienvenue, 159. Baughman 44. Baum Bugle, Spring 1966, 14.
Text and illustrations fine, original cloth a bit darkened, with a few tiny abrasions to front cover. Original watercolor and gouache painting in beautiful condition.
