Come Said the Wind…

Illustration: Arthur Rackham, from J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, published in 1906

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“Come said the wind to the leaves one day, come o’er the meadows and we will play. Put on your dresses scarlet and gold, for summer is gone and the days grow cold.” — Unknown

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Arthur Rackham RWS (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, which were combined with the use of watercolor, a technique he developed due to his background as a journalistic illustrator.

Rackham's 51 color pieces for the early American tale Rip Van Winkle became a turning point in the production of books since — through color-separated printing — it featured the accurate reproduction of color artwork. Some of Rackham’s best-known works also include the illustrations for Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. (Wikipedia)

As someone who appreciates Rackham’s artwork— I am so delighted that a leather-bound edition of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens graces my library shelves. This magical, marvelous book with heavy, gold-tipped pages is full of Rackham’s illustrations and color plates, all protected beneath vellum sheets. In his own inimitable and magical way, each of his illustrations tell stories of their own.

This illustration called Autumn Fairies is one of my favorites. It represents the playfulness of a windy Autumn day… scarlet and gold leaves cartwheeling through the air, while those magical beings of a child’s imagination and dreams are glimpsed, swept up in the wind and in the sheer excitement of the day.