The Rare Book Department at the Free Library of Philadelphia is located on the third floor of the enormous historic building. It is indeed a rare find – not only is it home to hundreds of fragile pre-1900 books, but it also houses an incredible collection of works by the illustrator Arthur Rackham. When entering the Rare Book Department, the visitor is first asked to remove his or her coat. After doing so, she/he must sign her/his name in a large vintage guest book. The showcase of Rackham’s work is housed in display cases that wind through the hallways of the entire rare book collection. If the visitor arrives at 11 a.m, she/he will be lucky enough to enjoy a tour of the collection with librarian Joel Sartorins, who can give a disoriented viewer the “ins” on Rackham’s beautiful detailed drawings.

The current exhibition, “The World of Arthur Rackham,” runs from Jan. 24 through May 20. Arthur Rackham was an interpreter of myth, legend and fairy tale. The collection purchased by the Rare Book Department at the Free Library of Philadelphia through trust funds encompasses his entire oeuvre of work. Included are some of his more well-known works such as illustrations from Mother Goose, 1919, Alice in Wonderland and “The Witches Meeting,” 1929. Rackham’s distinctive palette includes predominantly muted tones that create a dreary, almost wasteland-like landscape. These tones are due to the color half-tone printing of the early 1900s. They allow him to give the impression of a completely otherworldly place where witches prowled through a desolate landscape dotted with gnarled trees and bleak lakes. Witches with crinkled skin, long pointed noses, and polka dot patterned dresses can be found in “The Witches Meeting.”

While the characters he depicts may seem frightening and thus unfit for children, a closer look reveals the witches’ smiles, which Rackham carefully carved into their faces. Rackham also enjoyed playing with his own image by inserting himself into many of his drawings as a character in the story. Besides creating incredibly detailed characters, Rackham also paid particular attention to the natural world that surrounded these figures. Twisted rotting trees that curve upwards towards cloudy skies can be found dotting the landscapes. It could even be said that Rackham’s landscapes resemble Ohio’s flatlands on a drab day.

The Rare Book Department itself is absolutely charming and includes old grandfather clocks that chime every hour and half hour. Indeed, there is no better place in which to set the scene for the viewing of Rackham’s turn-of-the-century drawings, which appear as if they were drawn on tea-stained dusty papers in an attic hidden somewhere in the lonely countryside. As the grandfather clock chimes again, the curious viewer will have found herself already lost in Rackham’s macabre world of witches, cats and ancient gnarled trees.