November's Autumn

My first copy of Pride and Prejudice was this beautiful pocket-sized Collector's Library edition. The dust-jacket concealed its dark red cloth-binding and gold lettering.

But what enchanted me most, apart from Jane's prose, were the illustrations by Hugh Thomson. They were delightful; he captures the personalities of the characters and each piece is so detailed.

I wasn't surprised to learn he was a prominent Victorian illustrator and apart from creating works for all six of Austen's novels he also did so for Mrs. Gaskell's Cranford, among many others. Julie Wakefield of AustenOnly has a wonderful post with more about him.

A scene from Ch. 10

In honor of Sense and Sensibility's bicentenary, Palazzo is releasing this beautiful edition which includes eleven color plates and twenty-one silhouettes by Niroot Puttapipat, who is perhaps my favorite contemporary artist.

I've been following his artwork for quite a few years now through DeviantArt and remember how delighted I was when he posted his illustrations for the Folio Society's editions of Austen. I love the way he uses color and the dynamic compositions of each plate.

As a child in his native Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, Niroot shared his time between drawing, devouring books, and playing out stories, leading to a lifelong interest in art, literature, history and the natural world. He studied Illustration at Kingston University... learn more.

I know what I must add to my library collection come January 2012.
The UK edition is already available.

How do you feel about illustrated Classics? Who are some of your favorite artists?