Solomon's Little People: A Story About the Ants
London: Sunday School Union, [1882].
First Edition. Hardcover. This charming and uncommonly well-preserved 1882 publication of the Sunday School Union sought to teach children both natural history and moral education, by way of illuminating and illustrating the many positive characteristics displayed by the ant, "an insect which has attracted the attention of the curious ever since the wise king of Israel directed every sluggard to go to it for wisdom." Organizing each chapter around the virtue discussed, science educator and Christian natural historian James Crowther instructs his audience on how ants--as well as spiders, honey bees, dragonflies, and other insects--exhibit such qualities as cooperation, charity, perseverance, and courage through aspects of ant biology and behavior like transformative life cycles, antennal communication, division of labor, and colony architecture and organization. Solomon's Little People is a surprising and beautifully presented treatment of myrmecology (the study of ants) for the young minds of Victorian England.
"Treats of Ants in a very pleasing manner. The author has made Natural History his special study, and this work may be safely commended to intelligent Boys and Girls." --The Journal of Education, Dec. 1, 1891
Presumed first and only edition. 7 3/8" X 5 1/8". 189pp, plus one leaf of ads. Bound in full gray-brown cloth over boards, with upper board and spine stamped with a nature scene in black and gilt, including a bustling ant-hill, spider web, dragonfly, and foliage, with both lettered in gilt, and rear board ruled and decorated in blind. Very gentle bumping to extremities, scuff to rear board, and rubbing to spine ends, else fine. All edges gilt. Binding is firm and sound. Bookseller ticket of Thomas Brear of Bradford to front pastedown. Foxing to endpapers and to blank prize plate, else pages are clean and unmarked. Illustrated throughout in tissue-guarded frontispiece and numerous black-and-white plates, in-text vignettes, headpieces, and decorative initials. Very good +. Item #9712
Price: $95.00