And There We Played at Shovel-Board Half the Day from "The Compleat Angler" (Original artwork)

Rackham, Arthur (artist); Izaak Walton

Publication Date: 1931

About this Item

Original watercolor and pen and ink drawing on paper, mounted onto card (drawing measures approximately 278 x 190 mm). Signed and dated by Arthur Rackham in 1931 (lower left). Matted, framed and glazed. Image coming a bit loose in mount, some minor soiling on matte. From The Compleat Angler, printed tissue guard with: "And There We Played at Shovel-Board Half the Day," facing p 182. Last sold at Heritage Auctions, 2019. Before that at Swann Galleries, 1996 making $9,200. A rustic scene of several young men playing shovel-board in a pub designed for Rackham's version of Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler (1653) the quintessential pastoral work on fishing. Structured as a dialogue between a fisherman, huntsman, and fowler, the book is a celebration of the natural world and the thrills of fishing as a pastime. In this edition the text is visualized with Arthur Rackham's unparalleled illustrations, making it a delight for fishing enthusiasts and collectors alike. Despite Rackham s illness and personal struggles during the project, it was seen as an opportunity to revitalize his career. "No fewer than six plates have landscape backgrounds, plates which should remind us of Rackham's very serious reputation as a landscape painter, with a fine vision of natural forms" (Gettings). A lovely example of Rackham's more traditional artistic hand. Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) is perhaps the most acclaimed and influential illustrator of the Golden Age of Illustration. A prolific artist even from his youth, Rackham got his start as an illustrator working for the Westminster Budget Newspaper (1892). Over the next few years, he took on more and more commissions for children s books, hitting his career high in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Rackham turned his imaginative pen to every classic from Shakespeare to Dickens to Poe. Fine.

Seller Inventory # 6580

Bibliographic Details

• Title: And There We Played at Shovel-Board Half the Day from "The Compleat Angler" (Original artwork)
• Publication Date: 1931
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
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  • Illustrated Books
  • Signed Books