Heidi by Johanna Spyri, Edited by Adeline B. Zachert, Illustrated by Clara M. Burd, 1924

Spyri, Johanna. Zachert, Adeline B. (editor). Heidi. Philadelphia, Chicago, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, 1924. Illustrated by Clara M. Burd. Winston Clear Type Popular Classics Series Edition. Thick octavo. In the publisher's original green cloth boards, with full color pastedown and gilt stamped border, titled in gilt on the spine. Illustrated endpapers. With four full color illustrations and eight black and white illustrations. 

Presented is a charming English edition of Johanna Spyri’s children’s tale, Heidi, translated here by Adeline B. Zachert. This book was published in 1924 in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Toronto by The John C. Winston Company, as part of their “Winston Clear Type Popular Classics Series.” It features four full color and eight black and white illustrations by Clara M. Burd. It is presented with the publisher’s original green cloth boards, with full color pastedown and gilt stamped border, titled in gilt on the spine, and illustrated endpapers.

Written by Johanna Spyri, Heidi is a work of children’s fiction, first published in two volumes by the German publishing firm F. A. Perthes. Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre (Trans: Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning) was published in 1880 and Heidi kann brauchen, was es gelernt hat (Trans: Heidi: How She Used What She Learned) was published in 1881. The book was incredibly popular and within three years had been translated to French, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and English. “Beginning with the earliest English-language translations, the texts of these two volumes have usually been translated and published together as a single book Heidi or, often, with an additional subtitle, such as A Child's Story of Life in the Alps or A Story for Girls” (Stan, 2010).  This most famous of Spyri's several published works, Heidi has been translated into English at least thirteen times. 

Born in 1827 in Hirzel, Switzerland, Spyri began writing in 1870, initially creating stories and poems for her son, Bernhard. Over her lifetime, Spyri published around forty books, including Ein Blatt auf Vronys Grab (Trans: A Leaf from Vrony’s Grave) in 1870, Heimatlos in 1881, and Gritli in 1882. Several of her books have been translated into English, but Heidi remains her most enduring work. 

Clara Miller Burd (1873- 1933) was an American illustrator and stained glass artist born in New York City. She studied at the Chase School and the National Academy of Design, where she earned a medal of achievement at the age of nineteen, and later continued her training in Paris at the Académie Colarossi under Gustave-Claude-Étienne Courtois, Filippo Colarossi, and other noted instructors. After returning to the United States, she worked as a stained glass designer for the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company and the Church Glass and Decorating Company, producing important ecclesiastical commissions including the East transept window to the memory of Anna Van Nostrand entitled Morning cometh and the shadows flee away and the memorial window for President William McKinley in Canton, Ohio. 

Although accomplished in decorative arts and mural work, Burd became best known for her illustrations for children’s literature and for her widely circulated magazine covers. Burd drew richly colored illustrations for classic children’s titles, including Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Jo’s Boys, and Little Men, as well as Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verse. Her work is rendered with careful attention to costume, domestic interiors, and narrative sentiment. In addition to her book work, she designed covers for major publications such as Literary Digest, Woman’s Home Companion, The Canadian Home-Journal, Farmer’s Wife, Modern Priscilla, and Woman’s World, establishing herself as a prominent figure in early twentieth century American illustration. She lived in Montclair, New York until her death in 1933.

CONDITION: 

Near fine condition. Winston Clear Type Popular Classics Series Edition. Thick octavo. In the publisher's original green cloth boards, with full color pastedown and gilt stamped border, titled in gilt on the spine. Pastedown beautifully intact, with strong colors and only two very small nicks to surface. Gilt border lightly faded. Spine gilt faded. Very clean back board. Minimal bumping and wear on corners. New linings, caps. Original illustrated endpapers. Clean interior pages, with even light toning. Fingerprint smudge on front endpaper. With four full color illustrations, including frontispiece, and eight black and white illustrations. 290 pp. 

Book Dimensions: 8 3/4" H x 6 3/8" W x 1 9/16" D. 

Slipcase Dimensions: 9 1/16" H x 6 5/8" W x 2" D. 

REFERENCES:

Stan, Susan. 2010. “ Heidi in English: A Bibliographic Study.” New Review of Children’s Literature and Librarianship 16 (1): 1–23.

Accompanied by our company's letter of authenticity.