GREEN MANSIONS by H. Hudson. ILLUSTRATED by E. McKNIGHT KAUFFER, who SIGNED and INSCRIBED this copy on the front free endpaper: "Inscribed for / Leslie Roos / E. McKnight Kauffer".

ILLUSTRATED MODERN LIBRARY EDITION / Random House, 1944. First thus edition. Hardcover Book, green cloth covered spine and paper covered boards, gilt lettering to the spine, lovely Kauffer illustration on both the front and rear cover, top page edges stained green, 5x7 inches. Pagination: x, 254 pages. Illustrated by Kauffer with 10 color plates and in-text drawings. The book comes in a slipcase with a lovely McKnight Kauffer plate on the front.

Condition: VERY GOOD book, the covers have some scrapes to the spine label, a bit of rubbing to the edges and corner tips, and a 1/8 inch scrape to the top edge of the front panel, overall just lightly handled, tight, bright, clean and clear. In a GOOD MINUS slipcase that has some scratches and a few edge scrapes but is solid, still doing its job well, and the Kauffer plate is lovely.

RARE with the SIGNATURE and INSCRIPTION of E. McKNIGHT KAUFFER.

About E. McKnight Kauffer (extracts from Wikipedia):

******Edward McKnight Kauffer, b.1890 d.1954, was an American artist and graphic designer who lived for much of his life in the United Kingdom. He worked mainly in poster art, but was also active as a painter, book illustrator and theatre designer. Born in Great Falls, Montana, by 1910 he had moved to San Francisco working as a bookseller and studying art at the California School of Design. Professor Joseph McKnight of the University of Utah became aware of Kauffer's work, sponsored him and paid to send him to Paris for further study. In gratitude Kauffer took his sponsor's name as a middle name. Kauffer moved to London upon the start of the First World War, and remained there for most of his career.

Kauffer may be best known for the 140 posters he produced for London Underground, but he also created notable book illustrations and book covers.

He returned to New York City in 1940.

It was in 1952 that he designed what is perhaps his most famous work, the dust jacket art of Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man. He died two years later, in 1954.******