Julia Ellsworth Ford — Imagina

New York, Duffield & Company , 1914. First edition. Cloth. A very smart first edition of this brightly illustrated children's work from New York socialite Julia Ellsworth Ford, the author's own copy signed by Percy MacKaye. First edition. Author's own copy of the work with her signature to the front endpaper. Also signed by Percy MacKaye, an American dramatist and poet who approved the use of the prefatory poem written by his daughter Arvia MacKaye when she was ten years old. Illustrated with two colour plates and many charming vignette illustrations. Collated complete. A melancholy tale of a child's imagined world, with chapters entitled: secrets, a faery, the butterfly, the mermaids, and live your dream. Written by Julia Ellsworth Ford, a New York socialite, art collector and patron, and author of children's books who was married to Simeon Ford, a financier and co-owner of the Grand Union Hotel in New York. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham, an English book illustrator recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration, and Lauren Ford, an American painter and author, the daughter of the author. In the original full cloth binding. Externally, very smart with minor rubbing and light fading to the extremities. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are very bright and clean with the odd small spot. Minor age toning to the endpapers. Very Good Indeed . Ill.: Arthur Rackham; Lauren Ford. Very Good Indeed .