first edition Hardcover
1870 · Gotha
by Hey, Wilhelm
Gotha: Friedr. Andreas Perthes., 1870. First Edition Presumed. Hardcover. Good. Schneider, Heinrich Justus. 4to. N.d., circa 1870, which is also date indicated by Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, the only known repository of a copy of this title in the world. Unpaginated, with title page, followed by six pages, five of which have verse and no other illustration, followed by nineteen leaves, each with a numbered verses, each accompanied by a half page illustration, and these leaves have blank obverse sides. Verses depict various aspects of infancy and early youth, including baptism, joking, playing on a charley horse, sibling fights, mousing, Nicholas (the precursor of Santa Claus), Christmas, going to school for the first time, etc. A lovely document to mid-nineteenth century childhood and particularly of Xmas. The illustrations are charming and notable for their fine detail. Soilage on the boards. Book is tight. Offsetting of prints onto blank facing pages. Some light foxing. Overall a good copy of a rare work.
(Inventory #: 000787)