(Children's Literature / Illustrated Books) Greenaway, Kate. A Apple Pie. London and New York: George Routledge and Sons, [1886]. FIRST EDITION [Schuster & Engen: 1a]. Oblong 4to (8-5/8" x 10-1/2"). [44] pp. Original red cloth-backed color pictorial light green glazed paper-covered boards with titles printed in red and full-color illustration of four young girls and an abundance of apples to both front and back covers. All edges stained red. Dark blue endpapers featuring the bookplates of Frederick Locker-Lampson and William Harris Arnold to the front pastedown. Complete with 20 brilliant chromolithographed plates engraved and printed by Edmund Evans after original drawings by Kate Greenaway. PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED BY GREENAWAY TO HER LEADING PATRON, IN THE YEAR OF PUBLICATION on the half-title page: "F Locker-Lampson / from / Kate Greenaway / 1886."
The physical condition of the item is graded VERY GOOD + (utilizing the standard antiquarian book grading scale for works on paper). The exterior boards exhibit very minor light soiling, a couple of touches of rubbing to the bottom edges, and light wear to three corners, preserving a highly attractive, structurally sound copy. Internally crisp and remarkably clean, with the dark blue endpapers perfectly intact and the chromolithographs exceptionally bright.
Late-Victorian Children’s Book Illustration and Creative Patronage
First published in late 1886, Kate Greenaway’s interpretation of the traditional English alphabet rhyme A Apple Pie stands as one of her most artistically unified achievements. By structuring each letter around the sequential fate of a single, massive pie, Greenaway injected dynamic movement, playfulness, and Victorian charm into a classic nursery format. The technical execution relies entirely on the masterful color-printing of woodblocks by Edmund Evans, whose precision captured the delicate, flat washes and fine lines of Greenaway’s watercolor style. This particular specimen gains superlative historical importance due to its direct presentation inscription to Frederick Locker-Lampson. As an influential poet, bibliophile, and Greenaway's close friend and patron, Locker-Lampson played a pivotal role in guiding her career and introducing her to high-society literary circles. The presence of his bookplate alongside that of the legendary American book collector William Harris Arnold traces an unbroken lineage of elite connoisseurship.
Bibliographical Variant, Census, and Market Scarcity
The bibliography compiled by Schuster & Engen identifies the true first printing (Variant 1a) by its oblong quarto dimensions, glazed light green pictorial boards, and dark blue endpapers. Because of their horizontal orientation and intended regular handling by children, copies of A Apple Pie are highly prone to spine splitting, edge wear, and internal thumb-soiling, making well-preserved survivors uncommon. While standard first printings are held in major institutional collections like the Newberry Library, the Library of Congress and Princeton University Library, specimens featuring a contemporary presentation inscription from Kate Greenaway to her primary patron Frederick Locker-Lampson are of absolute rarity, representing a unique, singular survival linking the artist directly to her inner circle in the year of publication.
THIS EXTRAORDINARY, INSCRIBED PRESENTATION COPY OF A LANDMARK VICTORIAN NURSERY CLASSIC DIRECTLY REPRESENTS THE CLOSE CREATIVE ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE ARTIST AND HER MOST INFLUENTIAL PATRON, REPRESENTING A CRITICAL ACQUISITION FOR INSTITUTIONAL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS OR EXTRAORDINARY PRIVATE COLLECTIONS DEVOTED TO THE HISTORY OF 19TH-CENTURY PICTURE BOOKS, CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, OR BOOKS WITH SIGNIFICANT LITERARY PROVENANCE.
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