An Island Garden by THAXTER, Celia, with pictures and illuminations by Childe Hassam;

Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin & Co, 1895, First edition, first issue. . original elaborate pictorial cloth, gilt poppies design on both covers designed by Sarah Wyman Whitman, and one of her best designs, initial on endpaper, fine clean condition, plates bright. . 8vo [23.5 x 17 cm]; ix, 126 pp, color lithographed frontispiece, color vignette on title page, 21 color illustrations, with 12 fine chromolithographed plates, each with letterpressed tissue guard, garden plan not in list of illustrations. . This is one of the best American gardening books of the 19th century, excellent in art, binding and content. Jacob Blanck, BAL 19923: "one of the most elaborate pieces of bookbinding of the period". The book is famous for Hassam's color plates, which are superb, and inspired an exhibit at the National Museum of American Art. There was also a second printing in 1895 and a second edition of 1904 in smaller format and with no color plates. This an very attractive copy of the true first edition with all its beautiful art, fine binding and interesting text by Thaxter. This copy has the loose card of Mr & Mrs Ernest W. Longfellow. A picture of this book is available on request by email.