20 volumes from Tales for the People and Their Children

Item #84304

(TRAVELLING LIBRARY). 20 volumes from Tales for the People and Their Children [series title], housed in a wooden case with glass-fronted door, 40x26.5x12.5cm. New York: D. Appleton and Company, [1840s]. 16mos. Uniform purple cloth bindings, spines gilt, with stamped patterns. Overall very good. D. Appleton published Tales for the People and Their Children, works of juvenile literature, in uniform bindings beginning in 1841, and by 1851 it had 39 titles across two series. Based on the publisher address, as well as the advertisements and books included in this set, this particular grouping was printed after 1843. Several titles are by Mary Howitt (1799-1888) and Sarah Ellis (1799-1872; better known as Mrs. Ellis), both authors of many moral didactic works aimed at middle class women. Other works include stories by popular writers like Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) and naval captain Frederick Marryat (1792-1848). While individuals had traveled with sets of books in specially-designed cases for centuries, travelling libraries assembled by a publisher or religious organization, with rotating selections, began to appear in middle of the nineteenth century for rural and frontier communities. While individual volumes from this series are often found on the market, more complete sets of juvenile literature in good condition like these are uncommon in the trade; sets housed in a contemporary wooden case are particularly rare.

Price: $2,000.00