“The Bashful Earthquake and Other Fables” was an 1898 book written and illustrated by Oliver Herford (1860-1935), one of the acclaimed cartoonist/illustrators and writers of his time. Herford’s work appeared in all the major magazines, and he wrote and illustrated dozens, I mean dozens of books! Herford’s ink work was known for its delicacy and design, borrowing somewhat from the British illustrators of the day. I’m pleased to be able to offer two illustrations from “The Bashful Earthquake and Other Fables”. The piece marked as FINI marks the end of a fable, picturing a top-hatted butterfly, pinned to a board. This was not an uncommon sort of image of the day, with the moth-type figure flying too close to the flame of love. The other piece pictures the top-hatted world crushing a graduate below him. The text in that one is beautifully integrated into the illustration. The Graduate piece measures 8”x 10½”. The butterfly piece is 12”x 8”. There are some cleanly repaired closed tears on the butterfly, though nothing touches the artwork. The graduate has some surface schmutz, but is in solid VG condition, not bad for 128 years old. Given the markings on these pieces, it’s possible they appeared in LIFE before being collected in book form. $125.00 for both + 13.00 first class shipping. SOLD
