The Careless Chicken
The Careless Chicken
Baron Krakemsides of Burstenoudelafen
(Forrester, Alfred)
Illustrated by Alfred Crowquill
(Forrester, Alfred)
Published by Griffith & Farran, St. Pauls Church Yard, n.d. c.1855
£160
Small quarto, (245x195x8mm.), original pictorial paper boards, worn at edges and corners, publisher’s advertisements on rear board, pictorial title page, decorated preface, 14pp., printed only on rectos, every page has large hand coloured illustrations above the text, small discreet paper repairs on some versos, neat gift inscription in top margin of title page dated Dec. 1861, very good.
Alfred Henry Crowquill and his brother Charles, also a writer, both used the pseudonym Crowquill and sometimes collaborated. I think this book is totally by Alfred who also wrote under the name Baron Krakemsides of Burstenoudelafen.
The Preface is in the form of a hand written letter to “My dear little Chickens”
He was one of the first artists to contribute to Punch (1841-44) after which he became a book illustrator, mainly children’s comic books.
Forrester was “highly popular with the Staff (of Punch) for he was philosophically happy and jovial, and sang good songs, and was, moreover, greatly sought after at a time when comic artists were few” (Spielmann, 1895).