Ca. 1920. Original watercolor and pen and ink on paper, mounted onto card, signed by the artist in the lower right-hand corner (drawing 5 1/16 x 5 1/2 inches, paper 6 1/2 x 6 1/4 inches). At the lower edge of the card in pencil is written: "The Story of Tuan | Irish Fairy Tales | 14 x 14 3/4." On reverse of card is evidence of a missing label and in pencil is written: "PF (or RF) #46." Old bookseller's description inserted into a plastic sleeve on the back of the card. Framed in a modern black and wood frame.

This original drawing from James Stephens' Irish Fairy Tales, appeared in The Story of Tuan Mac Cairill on page 29 as a black and white illustration. Rackham added the watercolor prior to sale. This episode is a frame story in which the Abbot of Moville, Finnian, learns why a man named Tuan still believes in the pagan gods. He recounts his life and rebirths as various animal creatures, and the story ends with "Tuan being reborn once again in the name of the Lord" (Stephens).

Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) is perhaps the most acclaimed and influential illustrator of the Golden Age of Illustration. A prolific artist even from his youth, Rackham got his start as an illustrator working for the Westminster Budget Newspaper (1892). Over the next few years, he took on more and more commissions for children’s books, hitting his career high in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Rackham turned his imaginative pen to every classic—from Shakespeare to Dickens to Poe. (Item #6543)