The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Illustrated by Maria L. Kirk, Deluxe Illustrated Gift Issue, 1911

Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1911. Illustrated by M. L. Kirk. Deluxe Illustrated Gift Issue. In original dark green cloth boards with illustrated inlay, gilt and black embossed titles and black and rose embossed floral border to front board, embossed title to spine. With new joints and linings and a new archival cloth slipcase with front inlay. 

Presented is a deluxe illustrated gift issue of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The book was published in New York by Frederick A. Stokes Company, in 1911. It is illustrated with five, full-color tipped-in plates by the talented Maria L. Kirk. The book is presented in its original dark green cloth boards with illustrated inlay, gilt and black embossed titles, and black and rose embossed floral border to the front board, and embossed titles to the spine. It has new joints and lining and a new archival green cloth slipcase.

Burnett’s The Secret Garden was first published in ten serialized issues of The American Magazine, from November 1910 to August 1911, with illustrations by J. Scott Williams. It was first issued in book form in August 1911 by the Frederick A. Stokes Company in New York, with illustrations by Maria L. Kirk. This deluxe illustrated gift issue was printed shortly after that first edition, issued in a slightly larger format with five beautiful full-color tipped-in plates by Kirk. The British first edition was published by William Heinemann in London in 1911, with illustrations by Charles Robinson.

Upon its publication in novel format, The Secret Garden received strong reviews from literary critics and sold well, with a second printing announced within a month after the novel's release. It performed very well during the 1911 Christmas season, becoming a bestseller in the fiction category, and was placed on several "best of" lists, including ones by the Literary Digest and The New York Times.

Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924) was born in Manchester, England, but moved to the United States in 1865. A gifted writer from childhood, Burnett took to writing as a means of supporting her family, creating stories for Lady’s Book, Harper’s Bazaar, and other magazines. Although the majority of her novels were written for adult readers, Burnett gained lasting success and fame from her children’s books. Today, she is best known for Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911).

Maria Louise Kirk (1860-1938) was an American painter and illustrator of more than fifty books, the majority of the titles were children’s books. She is celebrated for her illustrations in the 1904 US edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the subsequent Through the Looking Glass, as well as the first and deluxe gift editions of The Secret Garden and several books by L. M. Montgomery and Johanna Spyri.  Born in Pennsylvania, Kirk studied art at the School of Design for Women, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and in the Art Institute of Chicago. 

CONDITION:

Good condition overall. Original dark green cloth boards with illustrated inlay, gilt and black embossed  titles and black and rose embossed floral border to front board. Sunned toned spine, with embossed titles. New joints and linings. New archival green cloth slipcase with inlay. The interior pages are moderately toned but very clean and still bright. Five full color tipped-in illustrations by Maria L. Kirk, including frontispiece with tissue guard. 375 pp.

Book Dimensions: 8 1/4" H x 6 1/8" W x 1 3/4" D.
Slipcase Dimensions: 8 5/8" H x 6 1/2" W x 2 1/16" D.

Accompanied by our company's letter of authenticity.