Arthur Rackham: An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog, From The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith

In 1929, George G. Harrap & Co, Ltd., published a splendid new edition of Oliver Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield with illustrations by Arthur Rackham. With this volume, Harrap introduced the practice of setting aside some ten "special copies" with original drawings produced by Rackham that did not appear in the edition. Recently, Peter Harrington brough copy no. 2 to the market. Rackham's original drawing illustrates Goldsmith's An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog from Chapter 17. Priced at over $28,000 US, it found a buyer in less than a week.

Endpapers

Arthur Rackham
AbeBooks listing as priced on May 12, 2026

Sold!

Arthur Rackham
AbeBooks listing ended by May 17, 2026

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Vicar-Wakefield-RACKHAM-Arthur-illus-GOLDSMITH/32444214230/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=viewbook_high

Arthur Rackham
AbeBooks item description

05286

Miguel Covarrubias: Negro Drawings, Copy No. 5/100

 The limited edition of Negro Drawings (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1927) by Miguel Covarrubias consists of one hundred copies that were specially bound, numbered, and signed, with an original drawing laid in. Copy no. 5 was listed on AbeBooks on April 17. It has subsequently been sold, probably last month, by Capitol Hill Books of Washington, DC, for $3,500.

Miguel Covarrubias
Capitol Hill Books listing ended between April 17 and May 24, 2026

Note:  There are ninety-nine other drawings by Miguel Covarrubias in the limited edition of Negro Drawings and I'd be happy to post any that collectors would care to share. 

05279

Arthur Rackham: Aesop's Fables Limited Edition, No. 1103/1450

David Brass Rare Books, Inc., of Calabasas, California, offers a signed, limited edition of Arthur Rackham's exceptional Aesop's Fables (William Heinemann, 1912). 

The price is $3,250.

Title page

Signed limitation page, no. 1103 of 1450

I am most intrigued by the announcement of a 1912 exhibition of Rackham's original book illustrations at London's Leicester Galleries:

The North Wind and the Sun

The Oak and the Reeds

Arthur Rackham
AbeBooks listing accessed May 24, 2026

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Aesops-Fables-RACKHAM-Arthur-illustrator-AESOP/32452382040/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=img

Arthur Rackham
AbeBooks item description

Arthur Rackham
AbeBooks store description

Note:  I was not able to attend the Arthur Rackham exhibition at Leicester Galleries in 1912 and neither were my great grandparents. Still, I might like to see the price list, from anyone who may have benefitted from art-loving great grandparents who were also pack rats.

Longtime readers may recall that I am also looking for a price list or catalogue from Peter Arno's 1932 exhibition at the Leicester Galleries.  

05277

Arthur Rackham: The Little Mermaid's Home Life

London publisher George G. Harrap gave us an edition of Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales in 1932 featuring illustrations by Arthur Rackham. A signed edition was issued of five hundred twenty-five copies, five hundred of which were offered for sale. The first nine of these included original illustrations by Rackham; eight of these were for sale to the public.

Copy eight is today on the market from Whitmore Rare Books, Inc., of Pasadena. It contains an original illustration which Rackham has titled The Little Mermaid's Home Life. The book is priced at $37,500. 

Me, I'm just browsing.

Pouring tea underwater must be a neat trick. Ditto for keeping sugar cubes from dissolving. Anderson's mermaid has some distinctly British tastes.

Spine

The limitation page

Title page

Arthur Rackham
AbeBooks listing accessed March 28, 2026

https://www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/Fairy-Tales-Signed-limited-edition-original/32414564551/bd

Arthur Rackham
AbeBooks item descritpion

05246

Ronald Searle: City Bird

City Bird is a 1969 lithograph by the English caricaturist Ronald Searle. He created a number of prints in this period with pointed observations set off by imposing cityscapes. This example, sold by Heritage Auctions on April 9, is no. 64/99. There are also ten numbered artist's proofs. The colors are black, gold, and red according to the 1971 Munich exhibition catalogue of Galerie Wolfgang Gurlitt where it is listed as no. 46. It is numbered 132 by Editions Empreinte.

As is typical with Searle, the closer you look, the more you see. At 65 x 50 cm, it's quite an imposing image. 

I saw an example of this print at a downtown Manhattan gallery in the late 1970s. I think the price was $200 but i could be wrong. The gallerist condescended to inform me that Searle was "a major illustrator," which, as you might surmise, I already knew. But I had no intention of buying this one at any price.

I can't really say I've changed my opinion with the passage of time although I have grown more tolerant of Searle's grotesqueries as the world itself has gotten more repugnant. Still, the figure attracts and repulses me at the same time. To me, she looks like a prostitute—which, to be fair, is legal in France. 

The estimate was $200-$300. Bidding started at $1 with no reserve. Eighteen days before the sale, no bids had yet been placed.

Ronald Searle
Heritage Auctions listing accessed March 21, 2026, 18 days before the sale

https://fineart.ha.com/itm/prints-and-multiples/ronald-william-fordham-searle-british-1920-2011-city-bird-1969-lithograph-in-colors-on-wove-paper-25-3-4-x-19-3-4/a/13238-28088.s?type=wantlistid-562622!creatorid-cewl!linkclicked-lotlink!emailid-03212026-080247.395PM-1315592-562622!itemid-13238_28003!wlem#13238-28003

Ronald Searle
Heritage Auctions item description

Last week, the print was sold for a bid of just $1, which comes out to $50 with Heritage's minimum buyer's premium. I hate to see such little interest in a Searle lithograph, many of which are quite wonderful, but this one clearly isn't for everybody. Not even me.

Gurlitt catalogue

05245

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Illustrated by Arthur Rackham, No. 496/1130

Peter Harrington Antiquarian Bookseller  of London offers a rare copy of the 1907 edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Arthur Rackham. It is copy no. 496 of the limited edition of 1130, signed by Rackham who added a small drawing of the Mad Hatter in profile.

Arthur Rackham
AbeBooks listing accessed February 20, 2026

https://www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/Alices-Adventures-Wonderland-RACKHAM-Arthur-illus/32394452246/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=viewbook

https://wise.com/us/currency-converter/usd-to-gbp-rate

05206