The Princess and Fairy; Or, The Wonders of Nature
London: W. & R. Chambers, Limited, [1899].
Hardcover. "Once upon a time there was a little Princess who was very fond of reading and learning. But, curiously enough, she was not fond of other good things, such as...running about in the open air..." So begins this fairy tale of science, wherein the bookish, indoorsy Princess meets her new companion, the governess she calls "Fairy," who introduces both reader and royalty alike to the glories of the natural world. Here a humble garden snail becomes "the animal with its house on its back," steam transforms into a "fairy cloud," and mercury turns into "the metal that runs about," with each lesson wonderfullly illustrated in 68 black and white illustrations throughout. In this imaginative and abundantly illustrated Victorian guide to natural history, you'll find the magic and science of the world around us; after all, as Fairy says, "This is not a bad Fairyland we have here...We live in a wonderful world. Wherever we go we shall find wonders, if only we keep our eyes open to see rightly."
7 3/8" X 5". 216pp, plus 32pp ads. Bound in bright red cloth over boards, with titular characters, framed by a bumblebee and vines, amid a countryside lanscape, stamped in black, taupe, yellow, and gilt to upper board and spine, lettered in gilt to both. Very mild wear to binding, with gentle bumping to extremities, faint sunning to spine, and slight lean to spine. Decorative floral patterned endpapers. Gift inscription to half-title. Binding is firm and sound. Pages are clean and unmarked. Illustrated in frontispiece and 67 black and white illustrations throughout. Very good. Item #9694
Price: $195.00