1890 Rare Victorian children’s gift book - Shining Hours, Illustrated
An appealing Victorian children’s gift book, full of gentle verses, nursery scenes, and bright chromolithographic plates.
Author: Various contributors, including Clifton Bingham and Edric Vredenburg.
Title: Shining Hours.
Publisher: London, Ernest Nister; New York, E. P. Dutton & Co., n.d. circa 1890s. Printed by E. Nister at Nuremberg, Bavaria.
Language: English.
Size: 7.5" x 6".
Pages: Unpaginated.
Binding: Very good original pictorial boards with red cloth spine, decorative gilt-style border, and colour illustration mounted / printed to the upper board. Light rubbing, soiling, and wear to boards and extremities, as shown. Protected in a removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content, with light age-toning and occasional foxing. Patterned endpapers toned, as shown.
Illustrations: Complete with six full-page colour illustrations, accompanied by numerous delicate monochrome illustrations throughout the text.
Estimate: USD $150–$175.
The book: A charming late Victorian children’s picture book from Ernest Nister, one of the most beloved publishers of decorative juvenile gift books of the period. Shining Hours gathers short poems and stories for young readers, including pieces such as “A Wonderful Ride”, illustrated with tender domestic and seaside scenes.
The book is especially attractive for its six full-page colour illustrations, including “Riding to Market,” “On the Sands,” and other bright nursery scenes. The decorative cover, with two children reading together beneath the title, gives the volume the warm pictorial character typical of Nister’s best productions.
The publisher: Ernest Nister was a German-born publisher and printer active in Nuremberg and London, celebrated for finely produced children’s books, movable books, and colour-illustrated gift volumes. His firm’s chromolithographic work was especially admired for its softness, detail, and sentimental charm.
The contributors: Clifton Bingham and Edric Vredenburg were both associated with late Victorian and Edwardian children’s publishing. Their work often appeared in illustrated gift books, annuals, and nursery volumes, where brief poems and moral tales were paired with highly decorative illustrations.