Rip Van Winkle

Here, in one of its most breathtaking versions, is the epitome of American folklore. Washington Irving's classic tale of the happy-go-lucky Catskill farmer whose encounter with a ghostly group of ninepin players caused him to sleep through the American Revolution has enchanted readers of all ages for more than one hundred and seventy years. Although Irving's masterpiece has been illustrated by many fine artists, none has captured so magnificently the tale's rich blend of humor, drama, and magic as Arthur Rackham, the preeminent pioneer of children's book illustration. Considered to be among his finest work, Rackham's " Rip Van Winkle" was first published in 1905 and has long been unavailable.This sumptuous new edition display Rackham's genius to the full. In fifty-one mesmerizing watercolors he reveals the fashions and foibles of eighteenth-century American life in masterfully wrought detail and brilliantly depicts the changes that the astonished Rip must face upon waking from his legendary twenty-year-long nap.