1908). He received considerable encouragement to pursue his individual style of decorative illustration from the Friday evening meetings of the Langham Sketching Club, of which he was chairman for two consecutive years, 1905–6 and 1906–7 – a sure proof of his popularity with his fellow artists, for the chairman was elected primarily to preside at the supper table. His ‘Windfalls’, now in the Melbourne National Gallery, and ‘Cupid’s Alley’, now in the Tate Gallery (see page 59), were both painted in 1904; ‘The Magic Carpet’ was bought for the Bradford Gallery in 1907 and ‘Treasures of the Deep’ for the Preston Gallery in 1909. But the first work that greatly advanced his fame in the years immediately following his marriage was his edition of Rip Van Winkle, with its fifty-one colour plates, published in 1905.

This lovely book decisively established Rackham as the leading decorative illustrator of the Edwardian period. One does not know which to admire most – the superb artistry of his landscapes, the poetry of the scenes of Rip by the riverside, the charm of his children and fairies, or the grotesque groups of Henrick Hudson and his crew which so long anticipated the art of Walt Disney (see pages 63 and 65). With Rip Van Winkle he began his fruitful association with the firm of William Heinemann, who issued the book in a limited edition and a trade edition, while American, French, German and other foreign editions were also called for, setting a pattern of publication to be followed for many years. Another profitable precedent was established by the exhibition of the originals at the Leicester Galleries in March 1905. All except eight of the pictures were sold, and the deluxe edition of the book was fully subscribed before the exhibition closed. Henceforth Rackham’s book illustrations were regularly exhibited at the Leicester Galleries at the time of their publication, and they found ready buyers.

E. V. Lucas was one of those who wrote to him at this time: