Oak Knoll

First edition. Spine and hinges worn. Some shelfwear. Pencil signed engraved frontispiece by Cole as the tipped-in frontispiece wood engraving. Designed by Bruce Rogers.

Timothy Cole (1852-1931) was born in London but spent virtually his entire life in America. In 1875, having lost all his worldly possessions in the Chicago fire, he moved to New York where he found work with Century magazine. For the next 29 years, before the advent of photoengraving destroyed the popularity of wood engraving, he enjoyed a brilliant success both at home and abroad as the greatest American master of the craft. His virtuoso reproductions of the great paintings of the Masters made him nearly a household name at the height of his fame. From the reference library of Philadelphia Rare Books & Manuscripts with their bookplate included.