Wee Willie Winkie & Other Child Stories Hardcover - 1888

Allahabad: A.H. Wheeler & Co, 1888. First edition. Hardcover. vg+. Large octavo. (2 pgs. of ads) 104pp. (+ vii pages of ads at the rear). Full contemporary red morocco binding, with a gilt-stamped motif and tooling on the the front cover and spine. Raised bands. Top edge gilt. Marbled endpapers and gilt dentelles, with an ex-libris (the same design as on the front cover) measuring 1x1" on vellum, at the interior front cover. This is the true first edition of this collection of children's stories by Kipling, published in India. This is no.6 of the "Indian Railway Library" series, published by A.H. Wheeler & Co, with a cover price of "One Rupee." The original grey-green illustrated wrappers (both front and back) credited to the "Moto School of Art, Lahore" have been bound into this beautiful hardcover signed binding by Brentano's. The front wrapper features three men and a boy, while the back wrapper shows two flute-playing soldiers. The front and back of the book feature ads for and reviews of other works by Kipling. Binding with some minor rubbing to extremities, and minor smudging to the covers. A faint horizontal scratch to the front cover. Interior with a small closed tear to the bottom of the gutter at the interior front cover. Light spotting along the edge of the book block, the front free endpapers, and the bound in front wrapper. Binding and interior in very good+ condition overall. No.6 of the "Indian Railway Library" series, by AH Wheeler & Co. These where originally sold at railway stations in India, in softcover editions.