Rip Van Winkle By Washington Irving
Rip Van Winkle Cements Rackham Legend with 51 Sumptuous Visions
Arthur Rackham’s 1905 tour de force Rip Van Winkle edition cemented his fame as the era’s preeminent illustrator through its enormous commercial success and lavish production value. When London art dealers Ernest Brown & Phillips commissioned 50 original color drawings in 1904 to accompany Irving’s classic tale, they purchased the artwork and rights for 300 guineas, selling publishing rights to Heinemann. The images exhibited publicly to great acclaim before the limited run’s entire stock sold out.
Awake before this pinnacle fantasy dreamscape escapes beyond mortal reach!
Buy Rip Van Winkle
The 1905 Arthur Rackham illustrated edition of Irving’s Rip Van Winkle limited to 250 signed copies.
- Features 51 mounted color plates cementing Rackham as top fantasy interpreter
- Masterful homage to Dutch painting paying visual tribute to Irving’s classic
- Most exquisite Rackham work securing his artistic legacy for the ages
- Craftsmanship apogee amidst creatives reacting to Victoria’s fading glory
Reviewers praised Rackham’s nostalgic style blending influences like Dutch Golden Age painting and German Renaissance master Albrecht Dürer. By distilling Irving’s 5,000 word story into 51 sumptuous plates, Rackham employs sequential visual narration doubling the text’s length. Beyond paying homage to artistic inspirations, he advanced possibilities for decoration itself evolving illustrative fields.
The richly imagined edition perfectly matched prevailing tastes for luxury gift books as Britain’s Victorian glory faded. By resonating profoundly with shifting attitudes, Rackham’s Rip Van Winkle scenes established his reputation beyond ephemeral magazines toward lasting fame as the period’s iconic interpreter synthesizing fantasy and atmosphere across imaginative landscapes. It secured Rackham’s status as the prime visual heir to greats like Gustave Doré. This singular triumph fueled his most stunning creative feats over the next decade before war reshaped Western culture’s sensibilities.
Limited Edition (1905):
- Cream vellum binding with gilt stamping, yellow silk ties (57 pages + 51 mounted color plates on brown paper); limited to 250 signed copies
Trade Editions:
- UK: Dust Jcket with green cloth binding, pictorial stamping in gold and gold lettering with mounted illustrations (57 pages + 51 plates)
- US: Green cloth binding matching UK trade version
- France (1906): Printed in UK, mostly issued in paper wrappers Size: UK/US – 7 1⁄4 x 9 3⁄4 inches; France – 8 3⁄4 x 11 inches
Text: Rip Van Winkle By Washington Irving
With Drawings by Arthur Rackham A.R.W.S.
London: William Heinemann
1905
Illustrator: Arthur Rackham (51 mounted color illustrations)
Publishers:
- UK: William Heinemann
- US: Doubleday Page
- France: Hachette (not signed). Printed in England by Richard Clay & Son, Ltd.
Buy Rip Van Winkle 1905 Editions
Arthur Rackham’s stunning 1905 illustrated edition of Rip Van Winkle. Each plate accompanied by leaf with descriptive letterpress.
- Limited Edition – Cream vellum binding with gold decorative stamping. Heinemann, 1905, limited to 250 copies signed by the artist, 51 mounted coloured plates by Arthur Rackham on white paper, gilt tip.
- Green cloth with gilt decorations to spine and front cover. 51 exquisite tipped-in colour plates with captioned tissue guards.
In 1905, Arthur Rackham reached another creative zenith with his tour de force Rip Van Winkle showcasing 51 sumptuous color plates spanning moods from riotous revelry to ghostly gloom. After prior iconic fairy tale interpretations in books like Grimms, this encapsulation of Washington Irving’s 1819 fantastical tales saw Rackham expand brilliance further through dramatically larger fine art plates. Strictly limited to 250 copies signed by Rackham himself, deluxe vellum versions stand as apex rarities for collectors.
With moody landscapes where each leaf and cliffside creature possess lifelike animation, the edition remains a pinnacle fantasy masterpiece bridging 19th century legends and early 20th century creative ascendance. As Rackham assumes undisputed title as the period’s finest imaginary visual voice alongside fiction titans, Rip Van Winkle places him firmly amid those hallowed ranks through harmonizing mastery breathing added dimension into Irving’s characters until both stand immortalized in collective memory.
American Icon
As one of America’s first iconic fictional tales, “Rip Van Winkle” permeates modern culture through endless references and tributes across mediums. Beyond cementing Washington Irving’s literary fame in 1819, the story’s timeless themes inspired generations of authors, playwrights, songwriters, and other artists to put their own spin on its magical symbolism.
The title character became shorthand for anyone emerging into a changed world after years away as well as commentaries on aging and legacy. Stage legend Joseph Jefferson performed the first successful dramatizations in the 1800s, establishing theaters as key interpreters keeping Rip alive through qualities suiting both comedy and drama. Later the tale reached film in the silent era and animation in the 1950s onward via numerous cartoons.
In music, compositions like George Frederick Bristow’s 1850s opera to 1960s rock songs extended Rip’s adventures. Recently, video games, fine art statues, whiskey brands, and TV comedies continue referencing Rip’s distinctive plight. No American fable enjoys more ubiquity with Ali Baba or King Midas across pop culture. Two centuries since his legendary long nap, Rip Van Winkle remains awake in creative consciousnesses charting national identity through his memorable encounter with transforming epochs.
