Q: What is the value of an old children's annual I have? It is dated 1908 and is called Fun and Frolic and is filled with illustrations of cats. It was published by Collins and is in very good condition.
Mrs P
A. Most children's annuals from this period are going to be worth perhaps £10 or £15 in decent condition, but this one is an exception for the artist that drew the cats in this book was called Louis Wain and he was a very famous book illustrator, and also drew many pictorial postcards. The unusual thing about Wain was that he sadly suffered periods of insanity, though he continued to work. During his "mad" periods, his cats took on much more ferocious faces, but while he was well, his cats were very happy and smiling. This particular book is worth about £50 to £60, and in the antiques trade, might well be broken up so that the illustrations could be individually framed and sold for higher prices.
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