Cabinet of Lilliput Stored with Instruction and Delight, c. 1825
London: J. Harris
3250
Six vols. Each title separately paginated: The Son of a Genius; a Tale for Youth (1823), viii, 180pp.; The India Cabinet Opened: or Natural Curiosities Rendered a Source of Amusement...
Six vols. Each title separately paginated: The Son of a Genius; a Tale for Youth (1823), viii, 180pp.; The India Cabinet Opened: or Natural Curiosities Rendered a Source of Amusement to Young Minds (1823), viii, 172pp.; Ellen, the Teacher. A Tale for Youth. By Mrs. Hofland (1824), (iii), 207, (5)pp.; The History of an Officer's Widow, and Her Young Family (1823), vii, (i), 172pp.; Always Happy!!! or, Anecdotes of Felix and His Sister Serena. A Tale. Written for Her Children, by a Mother (1823), vi, (i), 170, (ii)pp.; Constance and Caroline, a Moral Tale, by a Young Lady (1823), viii, 179, (v)pp. An unrecorded set, issued as something of a sequel to Harris's prior boxed compilations of children's books which had been issued earlier in the century. All titles feature an engraved frontispiece. Volumes uniformly backed in red morocco with gilt titling and rules. The India Cabinet, The Officer's Widow, and Constance and Caroline have pink or yellow printed paper over boards; the others have marbled paper. All with edges speckled blue. Edges uniformly rubbed, center gathering well-attached but starting from The Officer's Widow, usual offsetting from frontispieces, only The India Cabinet with significant foxing but this limited to initial pages. Overall very good given the contingencies and scarcity. Housed in original wood box lined with pink paper. General scratching to box, small loss to left groove and loss of right upper fretwork, split to decorated lid re-adhered. With TLs and pencil notes from a previous owner laid in.


