{"product_id":"kate-greenaway-original-drawings-under-the-window-1878-first-issue","title":"Two Original Graphite, Ink and Watercolor Drawings by Kate Greenaway, Published in Her Book \"Under the Window\"","description":"\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"10\"\u003e(Fine Art \u0026amp; Original Illustration) Greenaway, Kate. \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"52\"\u003eTwo Original Graphite, Ink, and Watercolor Drawings for \"\u003cem\u003eUnder the Window\u003c\/em\u003e.\"\u003c\/b\u003e London: George Routledge \u0026amp; Sons, [1878]. Two original production drawings, each executed in graphite, ink, and watercolor on paper. Sheets oriented vertically, measuring approximately \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"312\"\u003e9\" x 7-1\/2\"\u003c\/b\u003e (\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"325\"\u003e7-5\/8\" x 5-1\/2\" sight\u003c\/b\u003e), individually housed in archival mounts matted to \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"398\"\u003e14\" x 11\"\u003c\/b\u003e. Both drawings are distinctly signed with the artist's initials \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"472\"\u003e\"K.G.\"\u003c\/b\u003e within the lower-left quadrant of the image. Offered as a complete collection alongside a pristine copy of the corresponding monograph: Greenaway, Kate. \u003cem\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"10\" data-index-in-node=\"609\"\u003eUnder the Window. Pictures and Rhymes for Children.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e London: George Routledge \u0026amp; Sons, [1878]. First Edition, First Issue [Schuster \u0026amp; Engen 201: 1a]. 4to, original color pictorial boards, preserved in exceptional condition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"11\"\u003eThe physical condition of the first drawing is graded \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"3,0\" data-index-in-node=\"54\"\u003e(9\/10) - EXCELLENT\u003c\/b\u003e (utilizing a standardized 10-point scale for photographic prints and original works of art, indicating mild condition issues that are barely perceptible to the naked eye). The drawing features five small children walking down a village road, exhibiting two short closed tears to the bottom margin and a chip to the bottom left corner, all confined to the margins and under the mat. The physical condition of the second drawing is similarly graded \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"3,0\" data-index-in-node=\"520\"\u003e(9\/10) - EXCELLENT.\u003c\/b\u003e The drawing features a young girl walking across the tiled rooftops of an unnamed town, presenting a clean sheet in fine condition. The condition of the accompanying volume, \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"3,0\" data-index-in-node=\"885\"\u003eUnder the Window\u003c\/i\u003e, is graded separately using the standard antiquarian book grading scale for works on paper, presenting in \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"3,0\" data-index-in-node=\"1008\"\u003eFINE\u003c\/b\u003e condition; the pictorial boards remain structurally square with sharp corners, and the internal wood-engraved color blocks remain vibrant and completely free from routine thumbing or foxing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"12\"\u003eMaterial Aesthetics and Chromographic Production Mechanics\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"13\"\u003eThese original drawings represent a foundational milestone in late-Victorian juvenile illustration, serving as the direct primary source material for Kate Greenaway’s (1846–1901) breakthrough publication, \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"13\" data-index-in-node=\"205\"\u003eUnder the Window\u003c\/i\u003e. This work was the first volume both authored and illustrated by Greenaway, effectively defining the aesthetic landscape of late nineteenth-century children's literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"14\"\u003eThe first drawing illustrates the verse on page 31 of the first edition, beginning: \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"14\" data-index-in-node=\"84\"\u003e\"You are going out to tea to-day, So mind how you behave...\"\u003c\/i\u003e depicting five children processing down a stylized English village lane. The second drawing corresponds to page 38, illustrating the poem: \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"14\" data-index-in-node=\"284\"\u003e\"What is the way to Somewhere Town? Oh, up in the morning early; Over the tiles and the chimney-pots...\"\u003c\/i\u003e capturing a young girl traversing a continuous sequence of tiled roofs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"15\"\u003eTechnically, these drawings demonstrate Greenaway's meticulous layered methodology, utilizing light graphite under-drawing to establish proportion, precise ink outlines to define form, and delicate watercolor washes to establish her characteristic soft, pastel palette. The preservation of these specific pieces provides critical mechanical insight into Edmund Evans’ pioneering color wood-engraving process (chromoxylography). Evans engraved his key-blocks directly from Greenaway's original ink lines and mixed his oil-based inks to mimic her transparent watercolor washes, making the survival of the original artwork alongside a first-issue impression an invaluable point of comparison for the study of Victorian print block serialization.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"16\"\u003eProvenance, Bibliographic Priority, and Scarcity\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"17\"\u003eThe presence of the first edition, first issue copy of \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"17\" data-index-in-node=\"55\"\u003eUnder the Window\u003c\/i\u003e establishes absolute bibliographic context for the artwork. Identified by the definitive points outlined in the Schuster \u0026amp; Engen bibliography [201: 1a] (including the specific layout of the Routledge imprint and the presentation of the wood-engravings), the accompanying volume represents the exact printing state produced concurrently with the execution of these drawings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"18\"\u003eOriginal production artwork of this caliber by Greenaway is exceedingly scarce on the open market, as the vast majority of her primary manuscript drawings were dispersed into permanent institutional holdings or retained by the Evans and Routledge families during the late nineteenth century. The survival of two complete, large-scale finished drawings directly tied to the primary verses of her masterwork constitutes a paramount archive for advanced research into the Golden Age of British illustration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"19\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA MAGNIFICENT, MUSEUM-GRADE OFFERING OF TWO SIGNED ORIGINAL 1878 PRODUCTION DRAWINGS BY KATE GREENAWAY, ACCOMPANIED BY A FLAWLESS FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE COPY OF \"\u003cem\u003eUNDER THE WINDOW\u003c\/em\u003e,\" CONSTITUTING A PARAMOUNT ARTIFACT FOR ADVANCED RESEARCH INTO VICTORIAN CHROMOXYLOGRAPHY, NOVELTY JUVENILIA, AND THE GRAPHIC LEGACY OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY BRITISH ILLUSTRATION, REPRESENTING A PARAMOUNT ACQUISITION FOR INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH ARCHIVES OR EXTRAORDINARY PRIVATE COLLECTIONS DEVOTED TO THE GOLDEN AGE OF BRITISH BOOK ILLUSTRATION.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e#001005\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wallace \u0026 Clark, Booksellers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40724627947669,"sku":"001005","price":8750.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0459\/2589\/2245\/products\/underthewindow.01.20201122.jpg?v=1627757253","url":"https:\/\/wallaceandclark.com\/products\/kate-greenaway-original-drawings-under-the-window-1878-first-issue","provider":"Wallace \u0026 Clark, Booksellers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}