1881 Scarce Book - The Boys’ and Girls’ Book of Enchantment. Illustrated

Author: [Anonymous].
Title: The Boys’ and Girls’ Book of Enchantment.
Publisher: London, Strahan and Company Limited, 1881. First thus.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8 x 5.5 inches.
Pages:  viii-376 pages. 
Binding: Attractive and very good original Victorian publisher’s decorative red cloth binding, richly stamped in gilt and black to the spine and upper cover with ornamental floral and geometric motifs (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. All edges gilt.
Content: Good to very good content. Pages generally clean and tight, though showing foxing, mainly to the preliminary leaves and final pages, less pronounced within the body of the text. Contemporary ownership inscription dated May 23rd, 1883, to front endpaper.
Illustrations: Illustrated throughout with numerous fine full-page and in-text engravings by the Dalziel Brothers, including fairy-tale scenes such as The Bear in the Beech-Wood, Cockie Lockie’s Journey to Seacod-Land, The Knight Who Grew Rusty, and others. Complete.

Estimate: (Scarce with no or few other copies available for sale worldwide).

The Book: This richly bound Victorian children’s collection gathers a wide range of fairy tales and fantastical stories under the evocative title The Boys’ and Girls’ Book of Enchantment. Published in 1881 by Strahan and Company, it includes tales of magical beasts, enchanted forests, brave knights, and curious journeys, all accompanied by detailed engravings. The stories—such as The Bear in the Beech-Wood, Fairy Gold, The Great Magician and His Train of Sprites, and King Arthur’s Great Boar-Hunt—capture the imaginative spirit of late 19th-century children’s publishing, designed both to entertain and to instill wonder.

The Illustrators: The illustrations were executed by the Dalziel Brothers, renowned Victorian engravers who collaborated with many of the most important illustrators and publishers of the era. Their wood engravings added a dramatic and richly textured visual dimension to the text, making this volume not only a storybook but also a work of art in its own right.