Christmas in Legend and Story
Boston: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., 1915.
First Edition. Hardcover. This festive, holly-stamped and candle-lit 1915 collection of Christmas stories for children gathers together material from the Bible, mystic tales, traditional legends, and prose and poetry by such authors as John Milton, Leo Tolstoy, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Eugene Field, Margaret Deland, and Selma Lagerlof and comes illustrated throughout in a frontispiece and 15 monochrome plates of famous paintings of the Nativity. This collection is the concept and labor of children's librarians Elva Sophronia Smith (1871-1965), author of several books for young people, and Alice Isabel Hazeltine (1878-1959), who later served as Assistant Professor at Columbia University for nearly two decades. Together, these two turn-of-the-century children's librarians present here a collection of "Christmas stories and legends which have literary merit, are reverent in spirit, and are also suitable for children," a gift that continues to delight and inspire even 105 years after its publication.
8" X 5 1/2". xv, 283pp. Publisher's cloth binding by Decorative Designers, with their monogram, two Ds entertwined with the second in reverse, to upper board. Bound in full forest green cloth over boards, with holly leaves and berries stamped in black and red to upper board and spine, with candles and small potted Christmas tree stamped in black, red, and gilt to upper board and both upper board and spine lettered in gilt. Moderate wear to binding, some scattered rubbin, small crease to cloth at upper board, and bumping and rubbing to extremities. Hinges a touch tender. Binding remains quite firm and sound. Pages are clean and unmarked. Illustrated in frontispiece and 15 monochrome plates of famous paintings. Very good. Item #12176
Price: $165.00