In 1961 The New Windmill Series published their edition of Huckleberry Finn. One in a number of books in the series, this edition is all the more special for the many illustrations by the artist Edward Ardizzone.

Was there ever an artist better suited to illustrating a book like this? Charmingly simple but beautifully effective, Ardizzone captured the essence of Twain’s book in perfect style.

Part of Heinemann Educational Books, the series was specifically designed for students and teachers and featured a huge number of titles from classic literature to modern fiction and short stories. These ran from the early sixties and were published in cloth boards without a dust wrapper but full of illustrations to keep the student interested!

All of the illustrations are pencil and ink drawings and in keeping with the many other children’s books he worked on. These are lovely editions to collect and for me as a lifelong Huck Finn fan having this illustrated by Ardizzone is perfect.

I am very fortunate to have a first edition of A Tramp Abroad by Mark Twain from 1880 and the illustrations from that which were made by a number of artists as well as Twain himself are very similar in style. These publications made childhood reading so endearingly pleasurable and Ardizzone was a master of his craft.

See also: Sketches for Friends