The Folio Society is delighted to mark the 100th anniversary of The Wind in the Willows with a superb limited edition. Hand-bound in quarter vellum, with newly commissioned illustrations by Charles van Sandwyk, this will be the definitive collectors’ edition, limited to 1,000 copies only.

The Wind in the Willows was first published in October 1908, to relatively little fanfare. It was only after it was illustrated, first by Ernest Shepard and later Arthur Rackham, that Kenneth Grahame’s book began to attract the acclaim it deserved. In 2005 Charles van Sandwyk’s illustrations for The Folio Society’s prize-winning edition of The Wind in the Willows continued this tradition of fine illustration. His work won favourable comparisons with Shepard and Rackham – rare indeed for a contemporary artist.

Every aspect of the original Folio edition has been revisited to produce a new and splendid book. A wealth of new llustrations have been created by Charles van Sandwyk, and the book now contains 16 colour plates, all tipped in by hand, with gold edges and exquisite gold borders. Forty new pen-and-ink drawings have been added, including chapter heads and tails, as well as charming hand-drawn captions. New endpapers showing an architectural plan of Toad Hall have been printed by letterpress. Turning each glowing, beautiful page, we absorb every enchanting aspect of the story – whether it’s the cosy warmth of Badger’s kitchen, Toad’s comical disguise as a washerwoman, or Ratty and Mole on the river, ‘messing about in boats’.

Traditional craftsmanship and the highest production standards make this an edition unrivalled by any other available today. Each copy contains a limitation spread with a tipped-in etching, hand-printed under the artist’s supervision and signed by him with the limitation number. The calligraphy has been printed letterpress by the Logan Press. Each volume, measuring 13" x 9¾", is handbound in quarter vellum, blocked on the spine in 22-carat gold, with vellum tips and paper sides blocked in three shades of metallic foil. The volume is presented in a cloth-bound solander box.

Delivery of limited editions may take longer than standard editions. Please contact us for more information.

Charles van Sandwyk

A golden-age illustrator for our times Charles van Sandwyk is an award-winning author, artist and illustrator. In the tradition of Beatrix Potter and Arthur Rackham, he has the rare ability to endow animals with human characteristics. As a teenager, he taught himself the crafts of intaglio printing and calligraphy.

His first self-published book, created when he was just 20, won a national award. Since then, his work has been archived by the National Library of Canada and is held in private collections across the world. His first commission to illustrate the work of another author was The Blue Fairy Book for The Folio Society. This was followed by The Wind in the Willows, which has become one of the most popular editions in Folio’s history.

A Letter from Toad

Although I can hardly believe it, since I am so very well preserved, here we are in the 100th anniversary of my memoirs, known as "The Wind in the Willows" . Recently I felt a restless longing - ought there not to be a lavish new edition? No sooner was this thought in my mind than I knew what to do.

No sooner was this thought in my mind than I knew what to do.
I hopped into my motor car (strictly forbidden by Badger, but what the old fellow don't know won't hurt him), put on my goggles, and motored up to London, with only one minor smash on the way.

I knocked on the door of The Folio Society's premises in the heart of Holborn. Imagine my delight when I learnt what they were planning. There was indeed to be a Birthday Edition and what an Edition! Not even in my wildest dreams could I have pictured such a book, I gave the scheme my approval on the spot and sped back to Toad Hall to invite Mr Van Sandwyk to stay with me for as long as he liked, to paint further scenes from my life...I insisted that he include more pictures of Ratty, Mole and Badger as well.

A word of caution though, there will be only 1,000 copies made. It saddens me, but it must be so. The book is too exquisite to be printed in greater numbers. So I call on all friends of Toad hall, to prepare for this birthday edition, and purchase it before it is too late.