Books and Manuscripts

No place (but likely London), 1913. Original watercolor illustration on board, signed by Arthur Rackham, top right: "W.C.C. from Arthur Rackham/1913." 10 1/2 x 7 1/4 in. (267 x 184 mm). Rackham has painted his friend, colleague, and fellow artist William Cubitt Cooke, at the Langham Sketch Club in London. Cooke writes on the verso, "Presumably a Caricature of myself at the 'Langham' Sketch Club about 1913/WCC/by my old friend and fellow student, Arthur Rackham." In mat and in frame, 18 1/4 x 15 in. (210 x 381 mm).

William Cubitt Cooke (1866-1951) was a close friend of Arthur Rackham's, and like many other successful British illustrators of the time, a member of the Langham Sketch Club, one of the oldest artistic societies in London. Cooke was the colorist for Rackham's illustrations published in Harriet Martineau's Feats on the Fiord (London, 1914.)