W Heath Robinson illustrated books

Browse our fine collection of W Heath Robinson illustrated books and first editions including The Goblins and Professor Branestawm.

The popular illustrator and cartoonist William Heath Robinson is more famous for his drawings of very complicated, absurd machines which were intended to achieve simple objectives, but he is a noted children's book illustrator whose work included, The Arabian Nights, Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales and Charles Kingsley’s Water Babies.

The Adventures of Uncle Lubin is thought to be the start of his career drawing unlikely machines. In Britain, the term ‘Heath Robinson’ entered the language during World War One to describe any unnecessarily complex and implausible machine. The term was also often linked to temporary fixes which used creativity, ingenuity and whatever materials came to hand (e.g. string) and was popular during World War Two when, due to rationing, things had to be mended with whatever was available.

HEATH ROBINSON, W.

My Line of Life.

First edition, signed by the author; 4to; ortrait frontispiece, full page illustrations, numerous illustrations within the text; publisher's pictorial yellow cloth lettered and blocked in red, pictorial dust-jacket, price clipped, torn on the hinges, lacking appproximately 15 mm at tail, two small ares of loss to the head, top front cover torn with some loss, old tape repairs to the verso.

£350
KIPLING, Rudyard; W. Heath Robinson (illustrator).

A Song of the English.

First edition; 4to; limited to 500 numbered copies, signed by the artist, 30 tipped-in colour plates by W. Heath Robinson, some very light, occasional spotting to preliminary pages; publisher's full vellum, front cover pictorially stamped in dark green, red, and gilt and lettered in gilt and spine similarly decorated, lacking ribbon ties, top edge gilt, others untrimmed as published, a few minor marks and age-toning otherwise very good to near-fine.

£1,500
ROBINSON, W. Heath.

Bill the Minder.

First trade edition; 4to; frontispiece and 15 colour plates with captioned tissues guards and 126 black and white illustrations throughout by W. Heath Robinson, light spotting to endpapers and extreme edges, else very good; publisher's blue cloth gilt, the upper cover mounted with a pictorial plate, age-toned, bumped on spine ends and a little rubbed, otherwise a decent copy.

£475