1870 Scarce Victorian Edition- The Little Drummer, Story of the Russian Campaign

A charming Victorian juvenile tale set against Napoleon’s disastrous Russian Campaign, preserved in a particularly attractive pictorial green cloth binding with its striking chromolithographic title page.

Author: Gustav Nieritz.
Title: The Little Drummer: Or, Filial Affection; A Story of the Russian Campaign.
Publisher: London: George Routledge and Sons, [c. 1870].
Edition: Early Edition.
Language: English.
Pages: viii, 192 pages.
Size: 6 x 4 inches.
Binding: Very good original publisher’s green cloth binding, elaborately decorated in black and gilt to the front board, with gilt lettering and ornamentation to the spine and a small oval coloured pictorial onlay of the drummer boy at the centre of the upper cover. Light rubbing and age wear to extremities, with minor marks and handling wear consistent with age, as shown. Binding remains sound and attractive. Uncommon. Protected in a removable mylar cover. 
Content: Very good content, complete and generally clean, with light age toning, occasional spotting and minor signs of use. A small early bookseller’s stamp appears to the front pastedown.
Illustrations: Complete with the handsome chromolithographic pictorial title page, depicting the little drummer among soldiers and civilians.

The book: The Little Drummer is a nineteenth-century historical tale for young readers combining fiction with the dramatic events of Napoleon’s Russian Campaign. Following the fortunes of the young Augustus, who joins the army as a drummer, the narrative moves from the splendour of the Grande Armée into the hardships, violence and catastrophic retreat from Moscow. Like much Victorian juvenile historical fiction, the story combines adventure with strong moral themes of filial duty, courage and the human cost of war.

This attractive Routledge edition is especially appealing for its richly decorated publisher’s cloth and colourful chromolithographic title page, both characteristic of the increasingly elaborate production of children’s books during the later Victorian period.

The author: Gustav Nieritz (1795–1876) was a German writer and educator best known for his large body of moral and historical stories for young readers. His works were widely translated during the nineteenth century and were intended to combine instruction, historical interest and adventure.