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A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys
by Hawthorne, Nathaniel
- Used
- first
- Condition
- Original blind-stamped blue cloth. Some wear to corners and minor rubbing to boards, slight lean, occasional foxing and minor ma
- Seller
-
New York, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Boston: Ticknor, Reed and Fields, 1852. First edition, first issue with no ads. Frontispiece and 6 engraved plates by Baker from designs by Billings. vi, [7]-256 pp. 1 vols. 12mo. Original blind-stamped blue cloth. Some wear to corners and minor rubbing to boards, slight lean, occasional foxing and minor marginal staining, outer corners of two leaves lost but a very attractive copy, housed in slipcase. First edition, first issue with no ads. Frontispiece and 6 engraved plates by Baker from designs by Billings. vi, [7]-256 pp. 1 vols. 12mo. A lovely copy of Hawthorne's most famous children's book, with "The Gorgon's Head," "Three Golden Apples," etc. BAL 7606; Peter Parley to Penrod. Provenance: Henry William Poor (morocco bookplate); Mrs. J. Insley Blair (morocco Blairhame bookplate)
Synopsis
Hawthorne made it his ambition to be a writer as a teenager, he graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine, where poet Longfellow was also a student, and spent several years traveling New England writing short stories before creating The Scarlet Letter. He wrote A Wonder-Book between April and July 1851, freely adapting six legends from Charles Anton's A Classical Dictionary . He set out deliberately to 'modernize' the stories, freeing them from 'cold moonshine' and using a romantic, readable style. This was criticized by adults but proved universally popular with children. The stories in A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys are all stories within a story. The frame being that a Williams College student, Eustace Bright, is telling these tales to a group of children at Tanglewood, an area in Lenox, Massachusetts, where Hawthorne lived for a time. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys covers the myths of: The Gorgon's Head - the story of Perseus killing Medusa at the request of the king of the island, Polydectes. The Golden Touch - the story of King Midas and his "Golden Touch". The Paradise of Children - the story of Pandora opening the box filled with all of mankind's Troubles. The Three Golden Apples - the story of Heracles procuring the Three Golden Apples from the Hesperides' orchard, with the help of Atlas. The Miraculous Pitcher - the story of Baucis and Philemon providing food and shelter to two strangers who were Zeus and "Quicksilver" (Hermes) in disguise. Baucis and Philemon were rewarded by the gods for their kindness; they were promised never to live apart from one another. The Chimæra - the story of Bellerophon taming Pegasus and killing the Chimæra.
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Details
- Bookseller
- James Cummins Bookseller
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 311145
- Title
- A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys
- Author
- Hawthorne, Nathaniel
- Format/Binding
- Frontispiece and 6 engraved plates by Baker from designs by Billings. vi, [7]-256 pp. 1 vols. 12mo
- Book Condition
- Used - Original blind-stamped blue cloth. Some wear to corners and minor rubbing to boards, slight lean, occasional foxing and minor ma
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition, first issue with no ads
- Publisher
- Ticknor, Reed and Fields
- Place of Publication
- Boston
- Date Published
- 1852
- Keywords
- Children's Books | American | Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Bookseller catalogs
- Literature;
Terms of Sale
James Cummins Bookseller
All items, as usual, are guaranteed as described and are returnable within 30 days if not as described. Within the United States, all books are shipped UPS unless otherwise requested (please provide a street address). Overseas orders should specify shipping preference. All postage is extra. New clients are requested to send remittance with your orders. Libraries may apply for deferred billing. All New York and New Jersey residents must add the appropriate sales tax. We accept American Express, Master Card, and Visa. All items are subject to prior sale; prices are subject to change.
About the Seller
James Cummins Bookseller
Biblio member since 2009
New York, New York
About James Cummins Bookseller
Founded in 1978 by James Cummins, the firm has grown to include two New Jersey locations as well as the main store at 699 Madison Avenue (between 62nd and 63rd Streets) in New York City.Hours: Monday - Friday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (During July & August, until 4:00 p.m. on Fridays.)The Madison Avenue store is a seventh-floor oasis for book-lovers, a quiet and pleasantly furnished book room with a carefully chosen, expertly catalogued and broad-based selection of fine and rare books, autographs, manuscripts, and works of art. We have built notable private collections for American and international clients. Our stock is always changing, and our steady input from private buying and public auctions assures our clients of new surprises (and temptations!) at each visit. Our stock covers a wide range of collecting interests, with particular emphasis in the following fields: British and American Literature, Sporting Books, Private Press and Illustrated Books, 19th-Century Color Plate Books, Americana, Travel, Sets and Fine Bindings, History, and Authors' Manuscripts and Letters. Our catalogued inventory exceeds 50,000 titles, much of which can be searched on the internet. In addition, our New Jersey warehouse contains over 400,000 books in all subject areas. We might have the books you're looking for.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- BAL
- Bibliography of American Literature (commonly abbreviated as BAL in descriptions) is the quintessential reference work for any...
- Poor
- A book with significant wear and faults. A poor condition book is still a reading copy with the full text still readable. Any...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
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