In 1892, he quit his job and started working for The Westminster Budget as a reporter and illustrator. At the age of 18, he worked as a clerk at the Westminster Fire Office and began studying part-time at the Lambeth School of Art. He was born in London as one of 12 children. Today he is best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up.Īrthur Rackham (1867-1939) was a British illustrator and translator of books in the English and Spanish languages. He later wrote down the stories and, in time, became the boys' guardian. Walking in Kensington Gardens, he met the two young Llewelyn Davies brothers, and their youngest sibling, Peter, and told them stories about the imaginary adventures of baby Peter in Kensington Gardens.

Barrie, who retained a childlike spirit throughout life, wished to recapture his happy early childhood years in literature. Barrie (Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1860-1937) was a Scottish dramatist and novelist.

Rackham's work is noted for capturing the particular spirit of each story he illustrates. His fame spread to America with his colour illustrations for Rip Van Winkle. Kensington gardens are still laid out as Arthur Rackham's map shows, and many landmarks are recognizable in his illustrations. Here, the baby Peter Pan makes friends with fairies, talks to the birds of Kensington Gardens, explores the Serpentine using a baby-sized bird's nest as a boat, and towards the end, is joined in all these by a lost girl.Īrthur Rackham (1867 - 1939) was a leading artist during the Golden Age of British book illustration. Children will love this delightfully whimsical story of the adventures of Peter Pan as a baby-before his better-known escapades with Wendy, the lost boys, and Captain Hook.

This very generously illustrated edition of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens has 53 large full-colour images by famed children's illustrator Arthur Rackham. 'Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens dishes up a potent local myth, one that even now endows that park with magic.'-Michael Newton, The Guardian. Barrie added a new character to the mythology of the English-speaking world - Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. A beautiful, lavishly illustrated edition with colour images on almost every double spread.

Peter in kensington gardens