BILL BAILLIE: HIS LIFE AND ADVENTURES (FIRST EDITION) by Ell...
BILL BAILLIE: HIS LIFE AND ADVENTURES (FIRST EDITION) by Ellis Rowan
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LOCATION: JOHANNESBURG
Melbourne: Whitecombe and Tombs, 1908
Oblong 8vo+ 159pp. Hardcover bound in cloth. Printed illustrations and lettering on the front board. Eight coloured illustrations and numerous black-and-white illustrations by Jack Sommers throughout.
This is a first edition.
A charming and highly distinctive work of Australian children’s literature, Bill Baillie: His Life and Adventures occupies an unusual place within the oeuvre of celebrated botanical artist and natural history illustrator Marian Ellis Rowan (1848–1922). First published by Whitcombe and Tombs in 1908, the volume is illustrated with eight colour illustrations by Rowan herself, together with numerous black-and-white drawings by Jack Sommers.
Beyond its appeal as an illustrated children’s book, Bill Baillie has considerable biographical interest. Few of Rowan’s personal letters survive, and no diaries are known, making the semi-autobiographical elements of the narrative an important and intimate glimpse into the artist’s travelling life, observations and affection for the Australian natural world.
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BILL BAILLIE: HIS LIFE AND ADVENTURES (FIRST EDITION) by Ellis Rowan
More Information
LOCATION: JOHANNESBURG
Melbourne: Whitecombe and Tombs, 1908
Oblong 8vo+ 159pp. Hardcover bound in cloth. Printed illustrations and lettering on the front board. Eight coloured illustrations and numerous black-and-white illustrations by Jack Sommers throughout.
This is a first edition.
A charming and highly distinctive work of Australian children’s literature, Bill Baillie: His Life and Adventures occupies an unusual place within the oeuvre of celebrated botanical artist and natural history illustrator Marian Ellis Rowan (1848–1922). First published by Whitcombe and Tombs in 1908, the volume is illustrated with eight colour illustrations by Rowan herself, together with numerous black-and-white drawings by Jack Sommers.
Beyond its appeal as an illustrated children’s book, Bill Baillie has considerable biographical interest. Few of Rowan’s personal letters survive, and no diaries are known, making the semi-autobiographical elements of the narrative an important and intimate glimpse into the artist’s travelling life, observations and affection for the Australian natural world.
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
