Description
An appealing original Victorian children’s book, My Picture-Book, published in New York by the American Tract Society at 150 Nassau Street and cataloged as circa 1860. This diminutive hardcover contains short stories, poems, animal subjects, family scenes, Bible material, and Christian moral lessons accompanied by detailed black-and-white wood engravings. The published edition comprises 64 pages.
The most historically interesting feature of this copy is its handwritten school-reward inscription. It was presented to Master Willie Brice by his teacher and dated March 13, 1873, with the wonderful explanation that it was awarded “for learning the multiplication table.”
That unusually specific inscription gives the book genuine educational provenance and transforms it into a tangible record of 19th-century childhood, classroom instruction, and the Victorian practice of rewarding academic accomplishment with books.
Notable features include:
* Original dark publisher’s cloth binding
* Blind-stamped decorative borders on both covers
* Attractive gilt title and child-reading vignette
* Dated 1873 school-prize presentation inscription
* Numerous detailed Victorian wood engravings
* Charming subjects including babies, pets, wildlife, family life, and play
* Published by the influential American Tract Society
* Strong crossover interest for collectors of antique children’s books, education, religious literature, school prizes, and early American illustration
The gilt decoration remains attractive and the illustrations and typography retain strong visual clarity. The book displays honest age-related wear, including rubbing to the cloth, corner and spine-end wear, scattered exterior marks, and foxing or spotting to the interior pages. These signs of age are consistent with a small children’s book that has survived for more than 150 years.
A particularly evocative Victorian juvenile book with a personal inscription that documents exactly why it was awarded. Please view all the photos for the book’s exact condition, contents, binding, and pagination.
