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Irving, Washington:

Old Christmas: From the Sketch Book of Washington Irving. Illustrated by R. Caldecott. Christmas / the Stage-Coach / Christmas Eve / Christmas Day / the Christmas Dinner.

Kirkegaards Antikvariat
kir58965
London: Macmillan & Co., 1882. Original publisher's green cloth hardcover, spines and front covers lettered and decorated in gilt, brown endpapers, all edges gilt. Frontispieces with tissue guard, illustrated title pages printed in grey and green, 7 engraved plates, 96 b/w text illustrations, all engraved by J. D. Cooper after Randolph Caldecott. Inner hinges a bit week, but holding firm. Previous owners fine bookplate made by Povl Christensen (Else Fahnøe). Overall a very well preserved and very attractive copy.

""Old Christmas" (First published in a separately 1876 and identical to this copy) is a collection of five Christmas "sketches" by Washington Irving from his famous Sketch Book - A beautifully produced Christmas book which captures the essence of a Victorian Christmas. It describes Irving's experiences at the English country estate of Mr. Bracebridge during the "coaching days" of the early 19th century, focusing on the sights, sounds, smells and traditions of "Old" Christmas. In spirit it hearkens back to the Middle Ages -- before the "peasants" had learned to read newspapers or were talking politics at the local pub, when manner lords opened their halls for the local folk to feast in a show of gratitude, under the watchful stare of painted ancient family crusaders and armored statues. This wonderful account has a tangible sense of realism mixed with romanticism and the comforts of tradition.Drawings throughout are by Randolph Caldecott, a prolific and famous children's book artist of the 19th century. The pictures bring the book to life, we see the exact "physiognomy" and "countenance" of the many curious Dickens-like characters, the scenes of feasting and dancing, the old English kitchens, the stage coach, the dress and mannerisms of a "Coachy" - priceless details that effortlessly transport the reader back in time". - Washington Irving, one of the first Americans to achieve international recognition as an author, was born in New York City in 1783. His A History of New York, published in 1809 under the name of Diedrich Knickerbocker, was a satirical history of New York that spanned the years from 1609 to 1664. Under another pseudonym, Geoffrey Crayon, he wrote The Sketch-book, which included essays about English folk customs, essays about the American Indian, and the two American stories for which he is most renowned--"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle." Irving served as a member of the U.S. legation in Spain from 1826 to 1829 and as minister to Spain from 1842 to 1846.
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