Walter Crane THE TAPESTRY ROOM fairy tale ARTS & CRAFTS

***

The Tapestry Room
A Child’s Romance
by
Mrs Molesworth

Illustrated by
Walter Crane

Early UK edition

Published by
Macmillan and Co., London
1886

***

Early British edition of The Tapestry Room by Mrs Molesworth, illustrated by Walter Crane and published by Macmillan and Co., London in 1886 (first published in 1879). Printed by R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh.

Small hardback, flexible red cloth boards with gilt and black lettering and decorations to front and spine, black decorations to back, 7 b/w plates (including frontispiece with tissue guard; plates on thicker paper than text pages), title-page vignette, 237 pages plus 8 pages of advertisements. Approximate size 6.7 x 4.5 inches (17 x 11.5 cm).

The fantasies of the much-loved Victorian author Mary Louisa Molesworth (1839–1921), often referred to as the ‘queen of fairyland’, were partly influenced by the writings of George MacDonald, and there are certainly two or three ingredients from MacDonald’s The Princess and the Goblin (1872) in The Tapestry Room, first published in 1879. Very similar in tone to The Cuckoo Clock (1877) – Mrs Molesworth’s first full-length fairy story and her most popular book – The Tapestry Room is set in an old house in Normandy, where two children have magical adventures in the tapestry that hangs in one of their bedrooms. Their guide throughout is Dudu, an ancient raven who belongs to the house. The book includes a ‘story within a story’: in one of their dream-like wanderings the children meet a lady with a spinning wheel, who tells them the fairy tale ‘The Brown Bull of Norrowa’.

The drawings are by Walter Crane (1845-1915), one of the most important illustrators of the Victorian era. A member of the Arts and Crafts movement, he shared the Pre-Raphaelites’ enthusiasm for medieval design and Renaissance art, and had a major impact on the design and illustration of books, particularly for children, where his interest in Japanese prints frequently played a part. He illustrated a number of Mrs Molesworth’s books between 1875 and 1890, and was indeed a family friend, often holidaying with the Molesworths in Pembrokeshire. Each of his titles for Mrs Molesworth – including The Cuckoo Clock and Christmas-Tree Land (1884) – featured seven full-page drawings plus a vignette, cut by the wood engraver Joseph Swain.

Book complete and intact, with no owner inscriptions. Some light smudging and finger-marking (mostly to margins), one short closed tear, occasional foxing (mostly to margins), minor separation between a few gatherings, a little light creasing, some nicks to upper and lower gutter, bumping/creasing to some tips, around ten pages with staining, half title with pale offsetting and spotting. One plate partially loose, tissue guard with very minor creasing and spotting. Endpapers with foxing; rear free endpaper with original bookseller’s penciled price, rear hinge split (but holding), front hinge with a few small splits. Edges of page block with foxing, top with darkening. Binding a little loose, with lean. Boards and spine as shown.

A very acceptable copy, scarce in this early printing. One of several illustrated titles I am listing this week.

Please see scans for details.

To see all my auctions, please click here to view on eBay’s US site (with prices in dollars), or here to view on eBay’s UK site (with bid amounts displayed both in UK and US currency).

For shipping costs and payment details, please scroll down to foot of listing, below scans.
Note especially that my items are located in the UK,
and that the $4 shipping option for US bidders is an incorrect amount,
automatically set by eBay for US-based sellers (details below).

Any queries please email me before end of auction.

Please note that ongoing industrial action by UK postal workers
may delay delivery of this item.

***

***

Shipping from UK:
Please note that my items are located in the UK. All goods are securely packed, with multiple purchases combined where possible. Any customs charges are the responsibility of the buyer.

Shipping costs (estimated):
Within UK: £2.35 second class, or £2.64 first class (75p extra for Recorded).
Europe: US $5.55 standard air mail.
All other countries, including US: US $9.15 standard air mail, or $5.35 surface mail (very slow!).
For all non-UK countries, priority mail is an extra £3.70, where required. This is via Royal Mail’s International Signed-For service. Airsure at £4.50 is also available for some countries, with the benefit of full tracking. Signed-For is always recommended for high-value items, but usually optional (I do sometimes make exceptions, particularly for countries such as Italy or Poland, where the postal service is known to be unreliable). Please note that these prices are estimates only, and may vary slightly up or down according to final packed weight. Note also that my price includes a small charge of 50p towards the cost of packing and materials.

$4 shipping option (US bidders):
Athough I am located in the UK, I list most of my items on eBay’s US site, for greater visibility. Unfortunately this automatically requires me to offer a $4 shipping option to US bidders, whatever the weight of the item. There is sadly no way I can send any book to the States for $4, even by surface mail! In order to abide by eBay rules I will however honour the $4 shipping option where necessary, using surface mail only.
Many apologies for any confusion, and thank you for your understanding.

Payment:
I will send an invoice at the end of the auction; please do not go to checkout before I have done so.
UK buyers: invoices will be in GB pounds sterling, using eBay’s own rate of exchange at close of auction (around 1.65 US dollars to 1 GB pound sterling at time of listing); payments are accepted by cheque, postal order, bank transfer or PayPal.
All other buyers, including US: payments are accepted via PayPal, in dollars or pounds sterling. I can also accept cheques in GB pounds sterling drawn on a UK bank account, or bank transfers in certain cases.
I will do my best to accommodate other payment methods, but please email me first to make sure.