The Cricket on the Hearth: A Fairy Tale of Home
New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1933. Seven posthumous illustrations by Hugh Thomson. First Edition Thus, Limited to 1,500 copies, of which this is No. 811. Folio, x, 71 pages, publisher's original yellow cloth covered boards. The 1933 Limited Editions Club edition of The Cricket on the Hearth: A Fairy Tale of Home by Charles Dickens is a beautifully produced fine press volume, printed at the Golden Cockerel Press under the direction of Robert Gibbings. Limited to 1,500 numbered copies, it features an introduction by Walter de la Mare and seven full-page illustrations after the delicate watercolors of Hugh Thomson, printed in collotype and hand-colored at the Oxford University Press. Hand-set in Golden Cockerel type designed by Eric Gill and printed on Millbourn handmade paper, the book exemplifies the craftsmanship and artistry for which both the Golden Cockerel Press and the Limited Editions Club are known. Bound in yellow buckram with green-stamped decoration, this edition marries Dickens’s classic Christmas tale with the elegance of early twentieth-century fine press design, making it a highly desirable collectible for admirers of Dickens and fine illustrated books alike.
Provenance: The copy of W. Wellington George, M.D., a West Palm Beach, Florida physician and Fellow of the American College of Physicians. His ownership is indicated by a full-page pictorial Ex Libris bookplate at front, depicting a study interior with books, desk, and chair, with palm trees visible through the window. This copy lacks the slipcase. Bookplate heavily foxed, some light scattered foxing, some rubbing and wear, minor discoloration, to cloth, else in good + condition. Item #511
Price: $50.00