MACDONALD, George “The Princess and the Goblin” [David McKay, n.d./c1920]

MACDONALD, George. The Princess and the Goblin.

Philadelphia: David McKay Company, n.d./c1920. 203pp. Illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith with 8 full-color plates. Publisher’s bright green cloth pictorial boards. Slight discoloration to cloth at upper corner, else clean and well-preserved. In original dust jacket with chipping and loss at the head of spine and upper panel, along with general toning and wear. Near Fine in Good dust jacket.

Jessie Willcox Smith was among the most celebrated illustrators of the Golden Age of American illustration, and her work here reflects the qualities that made her so sought after—softly modeled figures, luminous color, and an ability to render childhood with both intimacy and quiet grandeur. Her illustrations for The Princess and the Goblin are especially notable for their atmosphere, balancing the story’s darker subterranean elements with a sense of warmth and wonder.