DARLEY DEFINES SLEEPY HOLLOW

Irving, Washington (1783–1859); Felix O. C. Darley (1822–1888), illustrator

Illustrations of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow [Designed and Etched by Felix O. C. Darley for the Members of the American Art-Union]

New York: The American Art-Union, 1849.

THE FIRST ILLUSTRATIONS OF SLEEPY HOLLOW — DARLEY'S COMPLETE 1849 SERIES.
Issued to members of the American Art-Union in 1849, this large-format edition pairs Washington Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow with six plates by Felix O. C. Darley. Commissioned by the Art-Union, Darley's designs were the first illustrations made for Irving's celebrated tale and helped establish its enduring visual vocabulary of Ichabod Crane, Katrina Van Tassel, and the Headless Horseman.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: DESIGNED AND ETCHED BY DARLEY—COMPLETE WITH ALL SIX PLATES.
Original printed wrappers; Oblong folio, approximately 15 by 12.5 inches. 16 pages of text with six full-page plates on stiff stock. The title describes the illustrations as designed and etched by Darley; institutional descriptions identify the plates as lithographs, or etching on stone, printed by Sarony & Major. Text printed by John F. Trow. Complete with all six plates.

CONDITION: SURVIVING IN THE ORIGINAL WRAPPERS.
Wrappers mildly soiled and age-toned with edge wear, creasing, small chips and losses, particularly along the spine and corners. Contents show scattered foxing and spotting, varying from leaf to leaf and more pronounced on some plates. Edge and corner wear present. Light damp-stain on upper edge of interior pages. Plates remain clear and complete. A sound example of this vulnerable large-format publication.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE / SUBJECT SIGNIFICANCE: DARLEY DEFINES SLEEPY HOLLOW.
Darley's 1849 designs are recognized as the first illustrations of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The six scenes follow Ichabod from the schoolroom and his courtship of Katrina through his encounter and flight from the Headless Horseman, establishing imagery that became closely associated with Irving's story.

ART FOR THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.
The series was commissioned by the American Art-Union and distributed as a supplement to its subscribers in 1849. The organization sought to broaden access to American art through exhibitions and the distribution of prints and illustrated publications to its members.

SUBJECTS: Washington Irving, Felix O. C. Darley, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane, Headless Horseman, American Art-Union, Hudson River Valley, Tarrytown, American Illustration, Sarony & Major, Nineteenth-Century American Literature, American Literature, Illustrated Books, American Illustration, Lithography, Folklore, Gothic Literature, American Art.

Item #22441

Price: $125.00