Kinderlust by Jespers, Floris, ill. Jan Peeters - 1923

Antwerp: J.F. Bogaerts & R.R. Dodson, 1923. First edition. Original pictorial wrappers, front and rear wrapper with a different color lithographed illustration. Some edgewear, rust stains from staples at spine edge. Colors bright and fresh. Twelve verses for children by Jan Peeters, with 12 full-page linoleum block color prints by Floris Jespers. A spectacular and early avant-garde children's book. Jespers' abstracted and representational color plates interplay geometric and decorative styles drawn from Cubism, Constructivism, Expressionism, De Stijl, and Art Deco. An outstanding example of post-World War I book illustration. OCLC locates five copies in the US.