1881 First Edition - The May Blossom; or, The Princess and Her People
Author: Marion M. Wingrave. Illustrated by H. H. Emmerson.
Title: The May Blossom; or, The Princess and Her People.
Publisher: London, Frederick Warne and Co., Bedford Street, Strand, [1881]. First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 10" x 8".
Pages: 63 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good original publisher’s cloth-backed pictorial boards, with a large color illustrated paper cover design by H. H. Emmerson to the front board. Binding remains sound and attractive, with hinges fine. Corners and board edges are worn, rubbed, and scuffed, with some surface wear and small losses to the pictorial cover, as shown. Protected in a removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content. Pages are generally clean and well preserved, with light age toning and occasional minor spotting or handling marks, as expected. Two extreme outer corners of the lower page margin are cut as shown on the “The Princess and the Bishop” page, without affecting the illustration or the text.
Illustrations: Beautifully illustrated throughout in color by H. H. Emmerson, with decorative borders, full-page scenes, and pictorial verse pages. Engraved and printed by the Dalziel Brothers.
Estimate: (USD 200–250).
The book: A nice First Edition of The May Blossom; or, The Princess and Her People, with verses by Marion M. Wingrave and original colour illustrations by H. H. Emmerson. Published by Frederick Warne in 1881, this charming Victorian picture book offers a poetic celebration of the childhood of Princess Victoria of Wales, daughter of the future King Edward VII. Through scenes of children, animals, flowers, domestic life, and gentle royal symbolism, the book presents the young princess as a figure of innocence, kindness, and promise. Institutional records describe the work as comprising 64 pages, with copies dated or attributed to 1881.
The book is a fine example of late nineteenth-century chromolithographic children’s publishing, combining decorative borders, soft colour, sentimental verse, and richly detailed scenes of domestic and royal childhood. The Dalziel Brothers’ engraving and printing give the illustrations a refined Victorian finish, while Emmerson’s images bring warmth, delicacy, and narrative charm to Wingrave’s verses.
The author: Marion M. Wingrave was a nineteenth-century writer remembered principally for children’s verse and for her collaboration on The May Blossom; or, The Princess and Her People. Her verses in this volume belong to the Victorian tradition of moral, affectionate, and commemorative children’s poetry, combining royal subject matter with domestic tenderness and lessons of kindness.
The illustrator: H. H. Emmerson, Henry Hetherington Emmerson (1831–1895), was an English painter and illustrator associated with scenes of childhood, domestic life, and narrative genre subjects. His work for The May Blossom shows his gift for tender expression, floral ornament, and graceful storytelling in color.
The engravers: The Dalziel Brothers were among the most important wood engravers and color printers of the Victorian period. Their firm worked with many leading artists and publishers, helping define the appearance of illustrated books, gift books, and children’s books in nineteenth-century Britain.