THREE LOVELY ORIGINAL DRAWINGS BY HONOR CHARLOTTE APPLETON FOR BIGGS’ ANTHOLOGY OF CHILDREN’S STORIES

APPLETON, Honor Charlotte. Three original drawings (one signed, two initialed) for Winifred Biggs’ World’s Best Stories for Children. (London: Thomas Nelson, 1930). Original pen-and-ink drawings (the largest measures 8 by 7 inches). $1200.

Original pen-and-ink drawings by Appleton, illustrating three stories in Biggs’ popular children’s anthology.

Honor Appleton began her studies at Frank Calderon’s School of Animal Painting and finished up at the Royal Academy. While a student at the Academy, she illustrated her own first book, The Bad Mrs. Ginger (1902), starting a career that would result in over 150 illustrated books. Influenced by Kate Greenaway and Annie French, Appleton developed “a very delicate style that seemed to capture the innocent world of children, their adventures and life” (Victorian Web). These three fanciful original drawings, captioned in Appleton’s hand, appeared in the World’s Best Stories for Children (1930), an anthology of 62 tales selected by Winifred Biggs. They were reproduced in line cuts as illustrations for Petre Ispirescu’s “The Foundling Prince” (page 265), Hugh Lofting’s “Cheapside” from his Doctor Dolittle’s Post Office (page 333), and Padraic Colum’s telling of the Hawaiian folk tale “The Fish-Hook of Pearl” (page 341).

Fine condition, with occasional evidence of pencil underdrawing and notations for photographic reduction (not affecting images).