Illustrated by Charles van Sandwyk
Published in series with Charles van Sandwyk’s best-selling How to See Fairies, Mr Rabbit’s Symphony of Nature and Other Tails is a new Folio Society treasury of poems and stories, all beautifully illustrated and elaborately decorated.
‘Van Sandwyk is a latter-day Beatrix Potter’
- Financial Times
Charles van Sandwyk is renowned for his whimsical and magical style, and these charming verses and watercolours will draw children and adults alike into fantastical and nostalgic worlds populated by animals that are ‘musicians and story-tellers, philosophers and poets’. This beautiful new edition is only available from Folio; a unique compendium of delightful stories and poems that have appeared in private collections over the last 25 years. Published in series with the best-selling How to See Fairies, these five endearing animal tales, and songs to the natural world, have been brought together for the very first time. With over 80 illustrations – including many newly drawn for the edition – a gorgeous six-page illustrated foldout of the wise old owl, and an insightful new preface by Mr Rabbit himself, this exquisite book is a must-have for admirers and collectors of van Sandwyk’s work, and will be treasured for generations to come.
Bound in blocked cloth with an inset printed label
Set in William Morris’s Golden Type
112 pages plus 6 page fold out
61 colour illustrations, 20 line drawings and illustrative borders and page decorations throughout
Printed endpapers
Printed slipcase
10˝ x 6¾˝
Charles van Sandwyk’s illustrations are highly sought after and his hand-crafted and small-circulation books have made their way to collectors and galleries around the world. : We are fortunate to have worked with van Sandwyk on a number of Folio editions, including The Wind in the Willows, The Blue Fairy Book, Alice in Wonderland and, of course, the hugely popular How to See Fairies, of which he is also the author. This new collection of his lavishly illustrated individual poems and stories takes nature as the central theme, and van Sandwyk has painted additional watercolours and page decorations especially for this unique edition.
Full of extraordinary characters, this joyous celebration of the natural world sees themes of ecology, wildlife and environmentalism burst from the text and from each gorgeous painting and pencil drawing. In ‘Mr Rabbit’s Symphony of Nature’, Mr Rabbit emerges from his burrow in spring to arrange the wonderful sounds of nature into a stirring symphony. ‘Full Moon Eyes’ is a beautifully illustrated ode to the wise old owl; ‘Neighbourly Birds’ is an award-winning character study of birds, which was originally published letterpress in 1986. ‘Canadian Content’ is a love letter to the natural landscapes of Canada; and ‘Mr Rabbit’s Christmas Wish’ is a festive children’s poem, written in van Sandwyk’s distinctive script; the original edition comprising just six individually handwritten copies.
Preface by Mister Rabbit
Mr Rabbit’s Symphony of Nature
Full Moon Eyes
Neighbourly Birds
Canadian Content
Mr Rabbit’s Christmas Wish
Charles van Sandwyk was born in South Africa and raised in Canada; he taught himself calligraphy and intaglio printing as a teenager. His first self-published book appeared when he was just 20, and won a national award. Since then his work has been archived by the National Library of Canada and treasured by private collectors across the world. Van Sandwyk has produced illustrations for the Folio editions of The Blue Fairy Book, The Wind in the Willows and How to See Fairies (which he both wrote and illustrated). A limited edition of Alice in Wonderland, illustrated by Charles van Sandwyk, was published by The Folio Society to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first edition. It sold out rapidly.
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