The Water-Babies. Illustrated in Colour and Black and White by Jessie Willcox Smith. Folio. London: Boots the Chemist, [1929]. Original green cloth, spine and front cover lettered in gilt, pictorial decoration to front cover in gilt, in publisher’s pictorial dust jacket repaired at spine.

A lovely gift edition of this popular tale, the adventures of Tom, a sooty little chimney sweep with a great longing to be clean, who is stolen by fairies and turned into a water-baby. Jessie Willcox Smith was a very successful artist who worked during the Golden Age of Illustration. She illustrated more than 40 books and did hundreds of magazine illustrations. Her work is very recognizable and she is known for her beautiful illustrations that capture the essence of children.