Rip Van Winkle, Drawings by Victor Perard
Rip Van Winkle, as illustrated by Victor Perard, was published in 1933 by the Frederick A. Stokes Company of New York. The book is thoroughly illustrated, with drawings on every page. The drawings were highly regarded for their accuracy, particularly in regards to the Catskills scenery, the regional architecture and the character’s clothes. This is partly attributed to Perard having made his sketches while traveling in the Catskills.
Rip Van Winkle, as illustrated by Perard, was published to much acclaim. A review of the book in the Minneapolis Journal noted that it was “more than just another appearance of a well-worn classic; it is a setting that may make the story shine like new if it comes to children at the story age. A hundred charcoal drawings meander through the text, of which there is never much on the page. These pictures put Rip and his friends, in the costume of their time, into scenery that for the most part still remains as wild and wonderful as it was in the days when little men played bowls among the mountains.”
Another review in the Elementary English Review noted that “Victor Perard, a well-known New York artist, gives us a beautiful edition of the beloved American legend. It is entirely hand lettered and has over a hundred distinguished line illustrations. Every picture was sketched in the Catskill Mountains on the actual scene of Irving’s story, and truly reflects the spirit of the text.”
A third review, in the March 10, 1934 issue of Scholastic, also extensively praised the book. “One more important book, and that is a new edition of one of our oldest national favorites. But you know how a school classic is likely to become so familiar that it loses its zest, and must be brought back to its original flavor by some special treatment. If you have forgotten how good a story Rip Van Winkle really is, because you have had to deal with it as a lesson, just look over this new Rip Van Winkle, by Washington Irving, drawings by Victor Perard (Stokes). This is hand-lettered throughout, legibly and without the least flourish, and thickly sprinkled with a hundred charcoal sketches made on the spot. I have spent a long summer in Rip Van Winkle’s home country, climbing peaks like those in these pictures, roaming their old roads and looking out over these broad landscapes, and I can assure you they are as accurate as photographs and far more inspiring. I am assured also that Mr. Perard is just as accurate in his reproductions of our early costumes and uniforms as he is in regard to architecture – on which point I can also testify. The splendid drawings give the tale new vigor.”
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving, Drawings by Victor Perard
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving, Drawings by Victor Perard
A Posthumous Writing of Diedrich Knickerbocker
Taught Them To Fly Kites
He Was Fain To Draw Off His Forces, And Take To The Outside Of The House
Victor Perard
Victor Perard (1870-1957), the illustrator, was born in Paris to an American mother and French father. He received his early art training at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, where he studied with Jean-Leon Gerome. On finding his early love of art, Perard once commented that “as a child, I played in the Tuileries Gardens adjoining the Louvre Art Galleries in Paris, and when it rained I took refuge in the Museum. The pictures interested me, and on returning home I would often try to draw some of them from memory.”
After immigrating to the United States, he continued with his love of drawing. He attended the public schools, after which he went to work for George White, “an able illustrator and commercial artist, and got practical experience for a few years.” He then began work as an illustrator working for various magazines, including Scribner’s, Harper’s Weekly and The Century, and for several book publishers. Perard also studied at the Art Students League and the National Academy of Design in New York.
Perard was a prolific author of instruction books on drawing, including How to Draw, Drawing Faces and Expressions, Drawing People, Drawing Trees, Drawing Dogs, Drawing Houses, Drawing Sea & Sky, Drawing Flowers, Drawing Children, Drawing Animals, Drawing Horses, Figure Drawing, Sketching Landscape and Anatomy and Drawing.
He taught life classes for 20 years at Cooper Union and for 10 years at the Traphagen School of Fashion, both located in New York City. He was an active member of the Society of Illustrators and the Salmagundi Club. His works can be found in many museum and institutional collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Library of Congress, Smithsonian American Art Museum, New York Public Library, New York Historical Society and the National Gallery of Art.
Victor Perard died at 87 years of age on July 9, 1957 at the home of his nephew, Victor A. Clement, in Bellport, New York. He had been living with Clement for two years. Victor Perard is buried at Mount Bethel Church Cemetery in Warren, New Jersey.
How Solemnly They Would Listen To The Contents, As Drawled Out By Derrick Van Bummel, The Schoolmaster
From Even This Stronghold The Unlucky Rip Was At Length Routed By His Termagant Wife
Panting and Fatigued, He Threw Himself, Late In The Afternoon, On A Green Knoll
A Company of Odd-Looking Personages Playing At Nine-Pins
As He Rose To Walk, He Found Himself Stiff In The Joints, And Wanting In His Usual Activity
Frederick A. Stokes
Frederick A. Stokes was a nationally-known publisher whose company published over 3,000 books in over 60 years of business. Stokes was born on November 4, 1857 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Frederick Abbot Stokes and Caroline Augusta (Allen) Stokes. He graduated in 1875 as salutatorian from the Cheshire Academy and in 1879 from Yale University, where he was a member of Psi Upsilon and Wolf’s Head. While in college, Stokes authored a series of popular articles that were published in the Yale Courant, and would form the basis of the “racy, rollicking” book College Tramps, which narrated the adventures of a group of eight Yale students during a summer trip through Europe.
After graduation, Stokes moved to New York to work for the publishing firm of Dodd, Mead & Company, and remained there for two years. In 1881, Stokes partnered with Joel P. White to establish the publishing firm of White & Stokes, which would become White, Stokes and Allen in 1883. Four years later, in 1887, Stokes purchased all the interests of his partners and then joined with his brother Horace S. Stokes to form the firm of Frederick A. Stokes and Brother. In 1890 the partnership with his brother was dissolved by mutual consent and the company became the Fredrick A. Stokes Company. Stokes would serve as the president of this company for the remainder of his life.
Stokes was active in several industry organizations, including being a member of the National Association of Book Publishers, serving as treasurer of the American Publishers Copyright League and serving as both secretary and president of the American Publishers Association. He was the editor of Pocket Magazine from 1898 to 1901.
When Stokes passed away in 1939, he left the Frederick A. Stokes Company to his sons who operated it for four more years before selling to J. B. Lippincott in 1943. Stokes passed away at 82 years of age on November 15, 1939 after an illness of several months. Funeral services were held at the Church of the Incarnation in New York City. Frederick A. Stokes is buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
As He Approached The Village, He Met A Number Of People, But None Whom He Knew
A Lean Billious-Looking Fellow, With His Pockets Full Of Hand-Bills, Was Haranguing Vehemently About Rights Of Citizens
A Fresh Comely Woman Passed Through The Throng To Get A Peep At The Gray-Bearded Man
He Soon Found Many Of His Former Cronies, Though All Rather The Worse For the Wear And Tear Of Time
He Used To Tell His Story To Every Stranger That Arrived At Mr. Doolittle's Hotel
