William Henry Hudson (1841-1922) was born near Buenos Aires, the son of poor American parents of English descent who had moved to the Argentine to farm. His education was haphazard and he ran wild on the family ranch. Rheumatic fever at 15 disabled him for the outdoor life he had intended, and his lifelong interest in birds intensified. He began to publish stories and articles on natural history in both English and Argentine journals, then in 1874 came to London, where he remained, often in poverty, for the rest of his life. He wrote prolifically, but until his last decade his work was little regarded. In 1904, he published Green Mansions, whose success came slowly, but in the course of the next ten years the book made huge sales in England and America. The novel is an exotic romance set in the jungles of South America. The story is narrated by a man named Abel who as a young man had lived among the Indians. He tells of Rima, a strange bird-like woman with whom he falls in love. A creature of the forest, Rima is eventualllly destroyed by the superstitious Indians. Illustrating our book, Edward A. Wilson made 26  pictures. He had been to South America, so he knew the forests there were palely bright, flickeringly brilliant, and bathed in a translucent sunlight, when compared to their North American peers. He painted a picture to begin each chapter in the book. His pictures are not so much about the narrative in the chapter as about the mood, which he sets with bright pale yellows, bright pale greens, bright pale scarlets, and bright pale blues. These illustrations were reproduced by

offset lithography in New York. The plates were created by Victor Metz, and the printing was done by the Bauer Lithographic Company under the supervision of Ralph M. Duenewald. The design of the book itself and its printing were vested in the hands of Carl J. Anderson, typographer at the Franklin Printing Company in Philadelphia. Anderson employed Centaur type designed by the book designer and LEC legend Bruce Rogers, and made for use upon the monotype machine. For the paper, Mr. Anderson selected a paper made of rags by the Worthy Paper Company. It is thin and deeply colored, a mixture of the colors one is likely to find in the South American forests. it has a crackle to it and the pages are deckled, so no two pages are the same. For the binding, Edward A. Wilson himself took full charge. He recalled being impressed with some children using finger paints, so he made a design from his own finger painting to demonstrate his version of tangled foliage, with thick heavy blades of grass. This design was then lithographed onto a staunch bookbinder's cloth, which covers the sides of the book. For the spine, Mr. Wilson chose a French linen with an eggshell color, and it is stamped with the title of our book in bright scarlet. This is number 433 of 1500 copies, and is signed by Edward A. Wilson. The offer includes the essential and elusive four page Limited Editions Club Monthly Letter. This book just could not be made today because of the variety and skill of so many craftsmen using the best materials available, regardless of cost. It should appeal to serious LEC collectors, to anyone who has read Green Mansions and is sufficiently moved by its beauty as to want an awesome edition, and to those who want to possess books with the special quality of the early LEC printings.  And, of course, to anyone who wants to treat a special person in one's life to something exotic and unique. Thank you for reading this presentation, and good luck in your searches. Feel free to contact me with any questions.