Kate Greenaway - Illustrator
Came across this super little book, Mother Goose of The Old Nursury Rhymes, illustrated by Kate Greenaway, while cataloguing today (the life of a bookseller is not all fun, you see). Greenaway is one of my favourite illustrators and remains collectible, although she is not nearly as popular now as she was in the last decade of the 19th century when books with her illustrations sold by the thousand both the UK and the United States.
Born in London in 1846, Greenaway was the daughter of one J Greenaway, engraver for the London Illustrated News. She studied art at various London Institutions, including the Slade. She first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1877 although her earliest published works date from 1871. She drew the attention and support of Edmund Evans, a leading printer and publisher, with her ability to capture a sense of enchanted worlds with a child-like innocence. Greenaway died in 1901.
This copy (left) of Mother Goose illustrated by Kate Greenaway is an early but undated edition published by Frederick Warne. Sadly it is a well worn copy and a little loose, but the charming illustrations which appear on every page are delightful and still clean and crisp. A nice to brighten up a very dull and rainy day in London.
Would love to hear from others who admire Greenaway's illustrations.
