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| Antique print - Wonderful Dog from Goldsmith's "Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog" 1889Beautiful illustration by the famous British illustrator Randolph Caldecott. Full of humour and character, his work greatly influenced illustration of children's books during the nineteenth century. "Caldecott was a fine literary artist, who was able to express himself with rare facility in pictures in place of words, so that his comments upon a simple text reveal endless subtleties of thought…. You have but to turn to any of his toy-books to see that at times each word, almost each syllable, inspired its own picture…. He studied his subject as no one else ever studied it…. Then he portrayed it simply and with inimitable vigor, with a fine economy of line and colour; when colour is added, it is mainly as a gay convention, and not closely imitative of nature." (Gleeson White). Quality colour printing by the celebrated Edmund EvansAn exceptionally beautiful illustration to Goldsmith's "Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog" Good people all, of every sort,
Give ear unto my song;
And if you find it wondrous short,
It cannot hold you long.
In Islington there was a man,
Of whom the world might say
That still a godly race he ran,
Whene'er he went to pray.
A kind and gentle heart he had,
To comfort friends and foes;
The naked every day he clad,
When he put on his clothes.
And in that town a dog was found,
As many dogs there be,
Both mongrel, puppy, whelp, and hound,
And curs of low degree.
The dog and man at first were friends;
But when a pique began,
The dog, to gain some private ends,
Went mad, and bit the man.
Around from all the neighboring streets,
The wondering neighbors ran,
And swore the dog had lost his wits
To bite so good a man.
The wound it seemed both sore and sad
To every Christian eye;
And while they swore the dog was mad
They swore the man would die.
But soon a wonder came to light,
That showed the rogues they lied;
The man recovered of the bite,
The dog it was that died. Beautiful colouring from Edmund EvansThis print would be lovely for a child's nursery |
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