Originally published 1913 Illustrator V. C. V. | Genre Children's literature | |
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The Google Book is an illustrated book of children's verse by Vincent Cartwright Vickers. Originally published in 1913 by J. & E. Bumpus, Limited, London, at Vickers' expense in a limited edition of 100 copies, it was later issued in a trade edition by the Medici Society in London in 1931. It was republished by Oxford University Press in 1979. The coincidence of the name being the same as the corporation has stimulated comment.
The book has surrealist illustrations of various imaginary birds, such as the Poggle and the Swank, alongside short poems about them. The Google of the title is a strange creature that lives in a pool in a beautiful garden and at night prowls the land where the birds live.
Vincent Cartwright Vickers, whose extended family owned Vickers Limited, was an economist, a humorist and an artist. He wrote and illustrated The Google Book while serving as a governor of the Bank of England.