Jack and The Bean-Stalk: English Hexameters

London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1886. First edition. Cloth. Good. 8.5" by 6.5". Randolph Caldecott. A smart first edition of this delightfully illustrated retelling of the classic children's tale Jack and the Bean-Stalk. First edition. This classic English fairy-tale first appeared in 1734, but was popularised in poetry throughout the nineteenth century. This is the first edition of Hallam Tennyson's rendering of the work, arranged in English hexameter. Written by Hallam Tennyson, a British aristocrat who served as the second governor-general of Australia, and the son of Poet Laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson. This work is dedicated to his father. Illustrated by Randolph Caldecott, a British artist and illustrator highly recognised by the Royal Academy. The Caldecott Medal was named in his honour. This was Caldecott's final work and the publisher elected to use Caldecott's incomplete sketches for this work, rather than find someone else to complete them. In the original green cloth binding. Externally, smart with rubbing and light bumping to the extremities. Fading to the spine with marks to the boards. Small splits in the cloth to the head of the spine. Internally, generally firmly bound. Pages are bright with light spotting and the odd handling mark. Age toning to the endpapers. Good