Illustrations From Book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes- Caldecott Honor Book 1955
Many of Mrs. deAngeli's illustrations no longer hold the vibrancy and detail of the original drawings due to multiple printings from deteriorating printer's plates and reprints made from books. Even existing original drawings not properly preserved have undergone serious erosion. The preservation of the remaining original art work is imperative.
A comparison of 3 renderings that accompanied the rhyme:
When I was a little boy I lived by myself,
And all the bread and cheese I got I laid upon a shelf;
The rats and the mice they made such a strife,
I had to go to London-town and buy me a wife.
Original Illustration
From 1954 1st Edition
Zephyr Books Reprint
Mrs. deAngeli drew heavily on her family for models throughout the Book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes. Below is a photograph of her grandmother, Maggie Lofft at her 50th wedding anniversary next to a drawing accompanying the rhyme: "There was an old lady tossed up in a basket..."
