Greenaway, Kate

Almanack for 1883-1895; 1897. London:  George Routledge and Sons, 1892-1894; 1896

14 volumes, 32mo (all but the 1881 Almanack  3 7/8 x 2 7/8 in.; 97 x 70 mm).  Light occasional foxing, some faint offsetting. Various bindings including pictorial boards with cloth spines, some in full morocco stamped in gilt, the 1884 Almanack in pictorial wrappers, the hardbound Almanacks with bright teal or saffron yellow endpapers; some light soiling and foxing to boards. Full burgundy morocco folding case, spine lettered gilt, owner’s supralibros on upper cover, pink moire lining.

 Katherine Woodward Mellon, 1984 (supralibros on folding case)

14 volumes, 32mo (all but the 1881 Almanack 3 7/8 x 2 7/8 in.; 97 x 70 mm). Light occasional foxing, some faint offsetting. Various bindings including pictorial boards with cloth spines, some in full morocco stamped in gilt, the 1884 Almanack in pictorial wrappers, the hardbound Almanacks with bright teal or saffron yellow endpapers; some light soiling and foxing to boards. Full burgundy morocco folding case, spine lettered gilt, owner's supralibros on upper cover, pink moire lining.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Each volume is inscribed in Greenaway’s miniscule hand on the half-title to Maud Locker Lampson. Eleven of the presentations are dated 1892, and the remaining are dated 1893 (Almanach for 1894), 1894 (Almanack for 1895) and 1896 (Almanack for 1897). Maud Locker Lampson was the daughter of the popular poet Frederick Locker-Lampson, whom Greenaway had met through Edmund Evans just before the publication of her first book Under the Window in 1878. Thus began a seventeen-year friendship during which Locker Lampson exerted considerable influence over Kate’s professional career and personal life. She became a close family friend, giving their four children drawing lessons, playing games and taking walks with them at their seaside holiday home. Rodney Engen wrote of Oliver Locker- Lampson’s later recollections of their intimate relationship with Greenaway: “It was her unassuming appearance, combined with her childish spirits that found release in rippling laughter and giggles of delight that endeared Kate to the Locker- Lampson children. She became a trusted comrade, willing to dash about the hedgerow below the house playing hide and seek … She willingly drew them pictures, pulling faces while she worked to keep their attention; and, when on of the children was ill, she would write entertaining illustrated letters to send to the sick room until the invalid recovered” (Engen, Kate Greenaway, p. 173).