1912 First Edition - Chronicles of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Author: L. M. Montgomery. Illustrated by George Gibbs.
Title: Chronicles of Avonlea.
Publisher: Boston, L. C. Page & Company, June 1912 (First Edition, First Impression).
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8 x 5.5 inches.
Pages: 306 pages + publisher’s catalogue.
Binding: Very good original publisher’s light cream cloth binding, gilt-lettered on the spine and upper cover, with the mounted colour portrait of Anne Shirley inset within a decorative frame on the front board  (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. 
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean - as shown). 
Illustrations: Complete with the original colour frontispiece portrait of Anne Shirley and the matching colour cover portrait, both by George Gibbs.

Estimate: (USD 350–500).

The book: Chronicles of Avonlea is a key volume in L. M. Montgomery’s Avonlea cycle, gathering twelve interconnected stories set in and around the beloved Prince Edward Island community. While Anne Shirley herself appears only intermittently, the collection richly expands the world of Avonlea through its supporting characters, offering moments of humor, quiet drama, and moral reflection. Issued here in its First Impression, June 1912, this copy represents the book exactly as first introduced to readers, in its original decorative cloth binding with the iconic Anne Shirley portrait.

The author: Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942) stands among Canada’s most influential and internationally celebrated authors. Best known for Anne of Green Gables and its sequels, Montgomery’s work shaped the literary imagination of rural Canada for generations of readers worldwide. Chronicles of Avonlea showcases her gift for character-driven storytelling, lyrical prose, and subtle emotional depth within the broader Avonlea narrative.

The illustrator: George Gibbs was a prominent American illustrator of the early twentieth century, whose work appeared widely in books, magazines, and commercial art. His refined colour portrait of Anne Shirley became one of the defining visual interpretations of Montgomery’s heroine and remains closely associated with the earliest L. C. Page & Company editions of the Avonlea books.