Harry's Summer in Ashcroft

New York: Harper and Brothers, Publishers, 1860. First Edition. Very good. First edition (copyrighted 1859, published 1860); 6 1/2 x 5; pp. [7], vi-xii, [1], 14-204, [4]; pebbled, dark-blue cloth over boards; elaborate gilt decorations and title to front board and spine; illustrated with numerous in-line engravings and frontis plate; a bit of rubbing to tips of spine and edges; faint, previous owner's signature to first blank leaf; occasional spotting, mostly to first and last few pages; in very good condition.A charming children's book on natural history, it was intended to unite "amusement with instruction," by teaching them the "processes of nature" through the story of Harry and his sister Emma, who spent one spring and summer on a farm on the Hudson.