1876 Scarce First Edition - The Catskill Fairies by Virginia W. Johnson.
(description)
Author: Virginia W. Johnson. Alfred Fredericks, illustrator.
Title: The Catskill Fairies by Virginia W. Johnson, illustrated by Alfred Fredericks.
Publisher: New York, Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1876. First Edition. The book was published serially in 1875, this is the first edition in book form.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 9 " X 7 ".
Pages: 163 pages + publisher's catalog.
Binding: Attractive and good to very good original gilt decorated full-cloth binding (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown, upper and lower parts of spine worn - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. All edges gilt. A rare find in any condition!
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing or staining - as shown, toning to inner margin of frontispiece and title page due to an old paper clip now removed - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with the frontispiece and the beautiful in-text and full-page illustrations by Alfred Fredericks.
Estimate: (Scarce with no or very few other copies available for sale worldwide).
The book: Attractive and scarce Victorian edition of the CATSKILL FAIRIES beautifully illustrated by Alfred Fredericks. Twelve-year-old Job lived on a mountain in the Catskills with his grandfather. One December Christmas Eve, when his grandfather had gone to town leaving Job to care for the cow and chickens, a snowstorm arrived, preventing his grandfather's return. Sitting in front of the fire, Job is visited by numerous fairies, who tell him wonderful stories of the world. Upon his grandfather's return, Job is not quite sure - did it actually happen or had he dreamed it? This is a wonderful story of imagination, beautifully written and illustrated.
The author: Virginia Wales Johnson (28 December 1849, in Brooklyn, New York – 16 January 1916) was a United States novelist. Her parents were from Boston, and she was home-schooled. After 1875 she lived in Florence, Italy. She wrote The Catskill Fairies in 1875 before moving to Florence.
The illustrator: Alfred Fredericks (1853–1926) was a Nineteenth-century American illustrator. He was a member of the National Academy and was active as a landscape and figure painter in New York City. He is remembered primarily for his book and magazine illustrations, published between 1864 and 1881.