Folio Archives 192: Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame 2005
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1wcarter
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame 2005
This timeless children’s story set in the English countryside about Toad, Mole, Ratty and Badger has been extensively and exquisitely illustrated by Charles van Sandwyk in this beautiful Folio Society edition.
The multiple adventures of these anthropomorphised animals, usually triggered by the incorrigible Toad who takes the others along with him for wild journeys, are wonderful to read to children, and for adults to read to remember their youth.
There are 33 colour and 50 monochrome illustrations in the 264 page book, but unusually for a Folio Society publication, there is no commissioned introduction. The pictorial endpapers are printed dark brown on light brown.
The book is bound in mid-green cloth blocked on cover and spine with a black and gilt image. An inset and interestingly offset picture adorns the cover. The 26x17.7cm. slipcase is pale green and printed in brown on all sides with a repeating rural pattern.
The above edition was also released as a 150 copy illustrator's edition with a tipped in etching, in a different format but with the same contents in 1995 (100 were bound in quarter leather as a special limited edition), and as a larger format limited edition in 2008. The last is one of the most expensive FS LEs on the secondary market.
It is a perennial best seller for the FS and every FS collector should have a copy.
….. 
Endpapers
1995 edition
2008 limited edition
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
This timeless children’s story set in the English countryside about Toad, Mole, Ratty and Badger has been extensively and exquisitely illustrated by Charles van Sandwyk in this beautiful Folio Society edition.
The multiple adventures of these anthropomorphised animals, usually triggered by the incorrigible Toad who takes the others along with him for wild journeys, are wonderful to read to children, and for adults to read to remember their youth.
There are 33 colour and 50 monochrome illustrations in the 264 page book, but unusually for a Folio Society publication, there is no commissioned introduction. The pictorial endpapers are printed dark brown on light brown.
The book is bound in mid-green cloth blocked on cover and spine with a black and gilt image. An inset and interestingly offset picture adorns the cover. The 26x17.7cm. slipcase is pale green and printed in brown on all sides with a repeating rural pattern.
The above edition was also released as a 150 copy illustrator's edition with a tipped in etching, in a different format but with the same contents in 1995 (100 were bound in quarter leather as a special limited edition), and as a larger format limited edition in 2008. The last is one of the most expensive FS LEs on the secondary market.
It is a perennial best seller for the FS and every FS collector should have a copy.
….. 
Endpapers
1995 edition
2008 limited edition
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
2kdweber
I own and love the FS LE but if you mention The Wind in the Willows to me, the van Sandwyk illustrations always come to mind.
3bacchus.
Thank you Warwick! I really like how the illustrations are printed on the same paper as the text. It's not a book I ever intended to read but then I never realized that such a gem is readily available on the FS website. Added to my winter wishlist - FS could take a lesson on how to promote a book :)
5SF-72
I got this edition as a gift when I became a member 8 years ago. They couldn't have chosen a better one to show someone new to FS just what they had to offer. What a gorgeous book!
6elladan0891
I think it's worth pointing out that Modigliani paper it's printed on is really nice - head and shoulders above the now ubiquitous Abbey Wove or Yu Long Pure.
7GardenOfForkingPaths
>6 elladan0891: Would you happen to know if the printing currently available from FS is still printed on Modigliani?
8elladan0891
>7 GardenOfForkingPaths: I don't. They did stick with it for multiple reprints, so perhaps they're still using it. Better ask FS directly to make sure.
9GardenOfForkingPaths
>8 elladan0891: The customer service rep I just spoke to did not have a copy to hand but said there have been no changes to the printing in the last couple of years, so was almost certain it is still printed on Modigliani.
10Willoyd
>1 wcarter:
It is a perennial best seller for the FS and every FS collector should have a copy.
Taking the risk of sounding a bit curmudgeonly, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that, this edition doesn't actually do a lot for me. I can't disagree with all the objective plaudits - this is a beautifully put together edition, and I can't help but admire the illustrations, of which there is a generous amount; there is no doubt this is one of Folio's best non-LE productions, but, but.....
Having, like many others, grown up with the book from an early age (with the added interest that my aunt and uncle used to live on the stretch of river the book is based on, with access almost only by boat, so we did much exploration, and yes this is the last place where I've actually saw a water vole!) the original Shepard illustrations are deeply ingrained in my literary psyche. For me, beautiful as they are, the Sandwyk illustrations simply don't add anything to what Shepard originally did. However lovely, frankly, I can't see the point. If anything, for me they do the book a disservice - they're so cute and twee (sorry, but they are to me!), better suited to the children's fairy books he is well known for (and which I have no interest in at all). Yes, there is a streak of cutesiness in WITW, but I find this goes into overload. Shepard, on the other hand, gets the balance absolutely right (although I accept this might just be familiarity).
Personally, I much prefer the 1995 edition, of which I have a copy. It so often gets dismissed out of hand, but I think it's excellent! I really like James Lynch's efforts (they're not perfect, but they certainly try to do something a bit different), there's an intro from Alan Bennett, and the green silk moire binding hits the nail on the head (it has slightly faded, but has held up better than most Folio silk bindings do!). The whole book is so readable and handleable.
As I said, this may all sound a bit curmudgeonly, but I couldn't resist any longer: everybody seems to rave about Folio's Sandwyk volumes, so just wanted to provide an alternative perspective!
It is a perennial best seller for the FS and every FS collector should have a copy.
Taking the risk of sounding a bit curmudgeonly, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that, this edition doesn't actually do a lot for me. I can't disagree with all the objective plaudits - this is a beautifully put together edition, and I can't help but admire the illustrations, of which there is a generous amount; there is no doubt this is one of Folio's best non-LE productions, but, but.....
Having, like many others, grown up with the book from an early age (with the added interest that my aunt and uncle used to live on the stretch of river the book is based on, with access almost only by boat, so we did much exploration, and yes this is the last place where I've actually saw a water vole!) the original Shepard illustrations are deeply ingrained in my literary psyche. For me, beautiful as they are, the Sandwyk illustrations simply don't add anything to what Shepard originally did. However lovely, frankly, I can't see the point. If anything, for me they do the book a disservice - they're so cute and twee (sorry, but they are to me!), better suited to the children's fairy books he is well known for (and which I have no interest in at all). Yes, there is a streak of cutesiness in WITW, but I find this goes into overload. Shepard, on the other hand, gets the balance absolutely right (although I accept this might just be familiarity).
Personally, I much prefer the 1995 edition, of which I have a copy. It so often gets dismissed out of hand, but I think it's excellent! I really like James Lynch's efforts (they're not perfect, but they certainly try to do something a bit different), there's an intro from Alan Bennett, and the green silk moire binding hits the nail on the head (it has slightly faded, but has held up better than most Folio silk bindings do!). The whole book is so readable and handleable.
As I said, this may all sound a bit curmudgeonly, but I couldn't resist any longer: everybody seems to rave about Folio's Sandwyk volumes, so just wanted to provide an alternative perspective!
11Conte_Mosca
>10 Willoyd:
You are not alone. I am with you on this. I have both FS editions, and I like the fact that Lynch tried something different. But like you, I grew up with WITW, and it has a very personal meaning - conjuring up great memories of reading it together with my mother. And for me, WITW and Shepard are inseparable (literally, with Shepard's illustrations embedded in the text). Nothing else comes close.
You are not alone. I am with you on this. I have both FS editions, and I like the fact that Lynch tried something different. But like you, I grew up with WITW, and it has a very personal meaning - conjuring up great memories of reading it together with my mother. And for me, WITW and Shepard are inseparable (literally, with Shepard's illustrations embedded in the text). Nothing else comes close.
13cronshaw
>10 Willoyd: I also rate E. H. Shepard's illustrations head and shoulders above van Sandwyck's - for me they're the definitive images for the work, superior to Arthur Rackham's too - but I still love the overall presentation of Folio's 2005 edition, it's superbly done. I also very much enjoy Folio's 1995 edition. Indeed I have both editions, with the latter as an LE rather than the former. The cover vividly evokes a weeping willow and to my mind is one of Folio's most successful marbling commissions. I'm actually grateful the van Sandwyck illustrations never grabbed me more, otherwise during my years-long phase of manic FAD that preceded Folio's Omni-channel era, I might have been tempted to hunt the 2008 LE too and pay a toady sum.
14Willoyd
> 11 >13 cronshaw:
So glad I'm not alone in appreciating the earlier edition! I hadn't realised that FS had done a limited version of this. Went to Folio 60 to find out more (it sounds lovely), and found this comment in the combined entry: A number of artists were approached to illustrate the text, but most felt overshadowed by the earlier work of EH Shepard and Arthur Rackham. However, in James Lynch, the Society found an artist with the courage to tackle the job with a fresh eye, and he produce a series of stunning new paintings and a binding design.
>12 Jayked:
Never realised that - thank you for the info! (BTW, the price of 1st editions....!!!!).
So glad I'm not alone in appreciating the earlier edition! I hadn't realised that FS had done a limited version of this. Went to Folio 60 to find out more (it sounds lovely), and found this comment in the combined entry: A number of artists were approached to illustrate the text, but most felt overshadowed by the earlier work of EH Shepard and Arthur Rackham. However, in James Lynch, the Society found an artist with the courage to tackle the job with a fresh eye, and he produce a series of stunning new paintings and a binding design.
>12 Jayked:
Never realised that - thank you for the info! (BTW, the price of 1st editions....!!!!).
15Conte_Mosca
>12 Jayked:
>13 cronshaw:
>14 Willoyd:
We have multiple versions in the Conte Mosca household! A cheap but nice hardback with the Shepard illustrations, and the two FS (non LE) editions with the van Sandwyck and Lynch illustrations. My daughter also has a Reader's Digest (oh how those words stick in my throat in the context of the current FS editorial leadership) "The World' Best Reading" edition, which is unremarkable other than for the fact that it has illustrations by Paul Cox. Paul Cox is a famously "marmite" illustrator (love him or hate him), well-known in the FS community for his illustrations for many a Wodehouse book, Three Men in a Boat, My Family and other Animals, amongst others. For WITW, I actually really like his illustrations, they are fun and funny, without being in any way overly sentimental or twee. They are not in the Shepard league by any stretch of the imagination, but I prefer them to van Sanwyck. They are worth checking out.
An other interesting note. I was looking up early illustrators, as I was not aware of who the first WITW illustrator was (I did know that the original version was not illustrated), so turned to Wikipedia. Imagine my surprise to find:
"The Wind in the Willows was the last work illustrated by Arthur Rackham. The book with his illustrations was issued posthumously in a limited edition by the Folio Society with 16 colour plates in 1940 in the US."
Quite an impressive achievement, given that was seven years prior to the Folio Society existing! Another reason to not take Wikipedia as gospel. It was of course published in the US in 1940 by The Limited Editions Club, not the Folio Society.
>13 cronshaw:
>14 Willoyd:
We have multiple versions in the Conte Mosca household! A cheap but nice hardback with the Shepard illustrations, and the two FS (non LE) editions with the van Sandwyck and Lynch illustrations. My daughter also has a Reader's Digest (oh how those words stick in my throat in the context of the current FS editorial leadership) "The World' Best Reading" edition, which is unremarkable other than for the fact that it has illustrations by Paul Cox. Paul Cox is a famously "marmite" illustrator (love him or hate him), well-known in the FS community for his illustrations for many a Wodehouse book, Three Men in a Boat, My Family and other Animals, amongst others. For WITW, I actually really like his illustrations, they are fun and funny, without being in any way overly sentimental or twee. They are not in the Shepard league by any stretch of the imagination, but I prefer them to van Sanwyck. They are worth checking out.
An other interesting note. I was looking up early illustrators, as I was not aware of who the first WITW illustrator was (I did know that the original version was not illustrated), so turned to Wikipedia. Imagine my surprise to find:
"The Wind in the Willows was the last work illustrated by Arthur Rackham. The book with his illustrations was issued posthumously in a limited edition by the Folio Society with 16 colour plates in 1940 in the US."
Quite an impressive achievement, given that was seven years prior to the Folio Society existing! Another reason to not take Wikipedia as gospel. It was of course published in the US in 1940 by The Limited Editions Club, not the Folio Society.
16jveezer
I love The Wind in the Willows as it is one of those books that evokes my early and never lost joy of reading. I believe I probably also started with the Shepard illustrations but am not 100% sure. The actual book we had 50 years ago might be in a box in my brother's garage and he has promised to let me know if he runs across it.
I have three editions and would buy more. I have the Easton Press facsimile with Rackham's illustrations, and the Folio Society limited edition with the Van Sandwyck, and love them both. The new edition by Mad Parrot, illustrated by Vladimir Zimikov, will be on its way as soon as they are done in a couple months. I reread the first two when I obtained them as an adult and will read the MP edition when it arrives in my excited hands. I would be ecstatic to replace the EP with the actual Limited Editions Club edition some day given a book budget windfall. (And get a nice copy of the Shepard illustrations if we don't find our childhood copy some day).
Coincidentally, and maybe quite rare in private press history, two presses are working on this book at the same time. There is an edition by Hand and Eye Letterpress being produced in the U.K., with illustrations by Judy White, that also looks absolutely delightful.
I have three editions and would buy more. I have the Easton Press facsimile with Rackham's illustrations, and the Folio Society limited edition with the Van Sandwyck, and love them both. The new edition by Mad Parrot, illustrated by Vladimir Zimikov, will be on its way as soon as they are done in a couple months. I reread the first two when I obtained them as an adult and will read the MP edition when it arrives in my excited hands. I would be ecstatic to replace the EP with the actual Limited Editions Club edition some day given a book budget windfall. (And get a nice copy of the Shepard illustrations if we don't find our childhood copy some day).
Coincidentally, and maybe quite rare in private press history, two presses are working on this book at the same time. There is an edition by Hand and Eye Letterpress being produced in the U.K., with illustrations by Judy White, that also looks absolutely delightful.
17treereader
I must have had The Wind in the Willows read to me as a child. The illustrations look so very familiar but I don't have any specific recollections of them prior to seeing them here. So very strange...
