Cendrillon (Cinderella) / The French Limited Edition de Luxe / Signed by Arthur Rackham / 1919

By Charles Perrault All lovers of the art of Arthur Rackham and the creator of Cendrillon, Charles Perrault, will welcome this French "Edition de Luxe" of Cendrillon (Cinderella), limited to 500 copies, signed by the illustrator Arthur Rackham (1867-1939), of which this is No. 122. This book is illustrated with black silhouettes; three are double-page stamped in three colors, tipped-in frontispiece depicting the titular character with a tissue guard. The covers are bound in white Japanese vellum boards with cover title and silhouette illustration stamped in gilt, spine lettered in gilt. Why the silhouettes and not Rackham's trademark style of ink and watercolors? After World War I, the demand for expensive books became uncertain, and Rackham feared that his illustration style was falling out of favor in the face of modern artistic developments. The response to this double challenge was a master-stroke – the 'Rackham' for 1919, a retelling of Cinderella, would be illustrated throughout