[Association Copy, Original Watercolors] Tristram

New York: The Literary Guild of America, 1927. First edition. Cloth. Very Good. With copious examples of original art by Hendrik Willem van Look done directly into the book with pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrating the poem, which is retelling of Tristan and Isolde, here, Tristram and Iseult. Gift from van Loon to his future wife, Frances Goodrich. The two were having an affair at the time. The gift was dated June 17th, 1927. With bookplate of Frances Goodrich. Goodrich was an actress who became a screenwriter, teaming up with her third husband, Albert Hackett, with credits including "The Thin Man", "It's a Wonderful Life", "Father of the Bride" and "The Diary of Anne Frank", among many others. Van Loon is probably the better known name today. He was the author of the popular history, "The Story of Mankind", which was geared for a juvenile audience. He did the illustrations for many of the children's books he also authored. 8vo. 19 by 13 cm. 210 pp. With original artwork -- watercolors -- on 54 of the pages, with many of the illustrations being double-paged. The illustrations could be simple vignettes of objects -- a sword, a group of flowers, etc. -- or more ambitious panoramas of battle scenes, or evocations of a castle on the shoreline. Generally the illustrations are in the margins but van Loon didn't hesitate to paint discreetly over text, with the resulting illustrations providing a bold backdrop to the page. Generally the illustrations aim for a decorative effect, and never do they compete with or overwhelm Robinson's verse. We see the very pleasing result as among other things, a testament to van Loon's affection and adoration of Goodrich, as this was a gift that sprung from his imagination and his effort. How perfect to express a passion through a love story all about unconstrained passion! Alas, the passion of this couple wasn't for the ages, as the subsequent marriage of the two lovers lasted less than three years. Condition: cover considerably soiled. Dampstain in fore-edge, touching, but not significantly, the corner of affected pages. Moderate age toning in the margins. A touch of shake to the binding.