Rip Van Winkle, Illustrated by John Fitz, Jr.
Rip Van Winkle, as illustrated by John Fitz, Jr., was published in 1928 by the John C. Winston Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The book contained the cover drawing, one color illustration and six black-and-white illustrations. The illustrations included:
- Rip Taught the Children of the Village to Fly Kites
- Rip Would Sometimes Share the Contents of His Wallet With Wolf
- On a Level Spot Was a Company of Odd-Looking Personages Playing at Nine-Pins
- Rip Called and Whistled After Wolf, But Was Only Answered by the Cawing of a Flock of Crows
- A Fresh, Comely Woman, With a Chubby Child in Her Arms, Pressed Through the Throng
- The Appearance of Rip Soon Attracted the Attention of the Tavern Politicians
- Rip Took His Place Once More On the Bench at the Inn Door
Rip Taught the Children of the Village to Fly Kites
The children of the village, too, would shout with joy whenever he approached. He assisted at their sports, made their playthings, taught them to fly kites and shoot marbles, and told them long stories of ghosts, witches and Indians. Whenever he went dodging about the village, he was surrounded by a troop of them, hanging on his skirts, clambering on his back, and playing a thousand tricks on him with impunity; and not a dog would bark at him throughout the neighborhood.
Rip Would Sometimes Share the Contents of His Wallet With Wolf
Poor Rip was at last reduced almost to despair; and his only alternative, to escape from the labor of the farm and clamor of his wife, was to take gun in hand and stroll away into the woods. Here he would sometimes seat himself at the foot of a tree, and share contents of his wallet with Wolf, with whom he sympathized as a fellow-sufferer in persecution.
On a Level Spot Was a Company of Odd-Looking Personages Playing at Nine-Pins
On entering the amphitheater, new objects of wonder presented themselves. On a level spot in the center was a company of odd-looking personages playing at nine-pins. They were dressed in a quaint outlandish fashion; some wore short doublets, others jerkins, with long knives in their belts, and most of them had enormous breeches, of similar style with that of the guide’s. Their visages, too, were peculiar; one had a large beard, broad face, and small piggish eyes; the face of another seemed to consist entirely of nose, and was surmounted by a white sugar-loaf hat, set off with a little red cock’s tail. They all had beards, of various shapes and colors.
Rip Called and Whistled After Wolf, But Was Only Answered by the Cawing of a Flock of Crows
At length he reached to where the ravine had opened through the cliffs to the amphitheater; but no traces of such opening remained. The rocks presented a high impenetrable wall over which the torrent came tumbling in a sheet of feathery foam, and fell into a broad deep basin, black from the shadows of the surrounding forest. Here, then, poor Rip was brought to a stand. He again called and whistled after his dog; he was only answered by the cawing of a flock of idle crows, sporting high in air about a dry tree that overhung a sunny precipice; and who, secure in their elevation, seemed to look down and scoff at the poor man’s perplexities.
A Fresh, Comely Woman, With a Chubby Child in Her Arms, Pressed Through the Throng
The bystanders began now to look at each other, nod, wink significantly, and tap their fingers against their foreheads. There was a whisper, also, about securing the gun, and keeping the old fellow from doing mischief, at the very suggestion of which the self-important man in the cocked hat retired with some precipitation. At this critical moment a fresh comely woman pressed through the throng to get a peep at the gray-bearded man. She had a chubby child in her arms, which, frightened at his looks, began to cry.
The Appearance of Rip Soon Attracted the Attention of the Tavern Politicians
The appearance of Rip, with his long grizzled beard, his rusty fowling piece, his uncouth dress, and an army of women and children at his heels, soon attracted the attention of the tavern politicians. They crowded round him, eyeing him from head to foot with great curiosity.
Rip Took His Place Once More On the Bench at the Inn Door
Having nothing to do at home, and being arrived at that happy age when a man can be idle with impunity, he took his place once more on the bench at the inn door, and was reverenced as one of the patriarchs of the village, and a chronicle of the old times ‘before the war.’”
John Fitz, jr. was a well-regarded illustrator of his time. He completed illustrations for several titles published by the John C. Winston Company, including Aesop’s Fables, The Little Lame Prince, Jackanapes and A Dog of Flanders.
The John C. Winston Company was founded in 1884 at Philadelphia by John Clark Winston (1856-1920). Winston born in Darlington, Indiana on November 22, 1856, the son of Henry Winston and Anna Clark Winston. Shortly after he was born, the family moved to Virginia, and Winston later moved to Philadelphia. He graduated from Haverford College in 1881 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, while also serving as the class president. Winston had intended to pursue the study of law, but after graduation he was offered a position with a publishing house in Indianapolis. He accepted the position, but three years later he returned to Philadelphia to go into business for himself.
The John C. Winston Company began in 1884 in a small way, with Winston opening an office in a single room in a small building. The company’s first venture was a single volume, but after proving successful, other books were added. The company grew significantly after it was incorporated in 1900. The company developed a large business publishing Bibles and other religious works, as well as educational books and general literature. In 1905, Winston acquired the firm of Henry T. Coates & Company, successors to the noted Philadelphia firm of Porter & Coates.
The John C. Winston Company would operate for 76 years until 1960, when it merged with several other publishers, including Henry Holt and Company and Rinehart and Company, to become Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
With all his success, John C. Winston was very active in the community, being a member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the University Club, the City Club, the Germantown Cricket Club, and the Huntingdon Valley Country Club. He was elected around 1916 as the president of the Arts and Science Club of Germantown. Winston passed away on May 6, 1920 after a short illness. Funeral services were held at the Friends’ Meeting House in Germantown and were widely attended by the public and dignitaries, which included the mayor of Philadelphia.
