At the Back of the North Wind

London: : Strahan & Co.,, 1871. First Edition of At the Back of the North Wind
George MacDonald's Most Desirable Title in the Very Rare First Binding

MACDONALD, George. HUGHES, Arthur , illustrator. At the Back of the North Wind. London: Strahan & Co., 1871.

First edition, Sadleir’s first binding.

Octavo ( 7 x 4 3/4 inches; 178 x 121 mm.). viii, 378, [13, publisher’s catalogue], [1, blank] pp. Illustrated by Arthur Hughes. pp. 149/150 with small (3/8 inch) lower marginal professional repair.

Publisher’s blue fine morocco cloth, front cover elaborately blocked in gold with picture of Nanny looking (truncated) out of the round window in the moon (same as the illustration on p. 301), scroll bearing title in reverse, three-sided rustic frame; and in black with a second similar frame, author's name and minor scroll-work. Back cover framed in blind with publisher's device and 'Anchora Spei' in circle. Spine with title and author's name in gilt, gilt rustic frame and gilt anchor with the initials A. S. on either side. Pale pink endpapers with remains of Burn & Co. binders ticket on rear paste-down, all edges gilt. Neat contemporary ink inscription on half title dated July 2nd 1871. The inner hinges have been professionally strengthened, the original cloth untouched. Some minor rubbing to extremities but by far the finest, brightest example we have ever seen. Housed in a quarter blue morocco over blue cloth clamshell case, spine with five raised bands, decoratively ruled and lettered in gilt in compartments.

A wonderful copy of George Macdonald's most desirable title, very rare in the first binding. Macdonald is credited with fathering the modern fairy tale and influencing future generations of fantasy authors. Macdonald counted among his friends Alfred Tennyson, John Ruskin, Lewis Carroll (Dodgson), and Charles Kingsley. It was to Macdonald that Carroll showed his manuscript of ‘Alice’ and asked for advise on having it published. Macdonald is quoted as saying “I do not write for children, but for the child-like, whether of five, or fifty, or seventy-five.” A cornerstone for any collection of fairy tale literature.

At the Back of the North Wind is a children's fantasy novel by George MacDonald that delves into themes of death, faith, and the unknown. The North Wind, an enigmatic and sometimes fearsome presence, serves as a guide to the afterlife, leading the young protagonist, Diamond, on a journey that challenges his understanding of mortality while offering hope for what lies beyond. Often regarded as a metaphor for facing death with courage and trust in a higher power, the story blends fantasy with profound spiritual reflections.

For this title, the famed pre-Raphaelite Arthur Hughes created the perfect illustrations. “These drawings have been conceived in a mysterious world out of space, out of time... [Hughes] happens to love all that is sweet, gentle, innocent” (Reid, Illustrators of Children's Books, p. 55). “Hughes was alone among the Pre-Raphaelites in recognizing that book illustration was more than the illustration itself. All his designs are conceived as part of the text and the ornament of the book” (Houfe, p. 358).

Grolier 100 Childrens' Books #39; Osborne Collection I, 368; Ray, The Illustrator and the Book in England, 177; Sadleir 1474. (Inventory #: 06090)