I have a deep love for Illustration work, which I think is a very interesting subcategory of American Art. One of my favorite aspects of art history is learning how artists use images to tell stories. This particular lot stands out to me as special because it’s both an iconic piece of American literature as well as an important Illustration artist (who executed several illustrations for Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle”). The bearded men on the frontispiece give the book an immediate and wonderful sense of character, which begins to bring the story to life for readers picking up this story.