Woman and the Shadow

Woman and the Shadow is another of the titles published by Rand McNally with a cover design by W. W. Denslow. I like this one, both for the color combination and the variety of pictorial elements. This was published in 1898 and bears Denslow's seahorse signature. The story is a convoluted Victorian romance featuring sacrifice, bad judgement, and a reasonably happy ending.

This cover seems to have a bit of everything, from the crown/jester's cap on the front to the silhouetted cat gazing at the moon on the rear board. The British pound symbol relates to the overall theme of money in the story, and the leafy vine is a motif seen on some other Denslow covers. Finally, the spine has a great jester's dummy. The colors make me think of the soon to be published Father Goose, His Book.