(Children's Literature, Illustrated Books, Poetry) HUMPHREY, Maud (illustrator). CHILDREN OF SPRING. Verses by Edith M. Thomas.
New York: Frederick A. Stokes & Brother, 1888. FIRST EDITION. 4to - 10" x 7-5/8". [4] leaves, plus [3] leaves of plates. Light blue stiff paper wrappers with serrated edges, bound with a gold and white silk cord; title, illustrator, and author printed in black on upper wrapper, centered with an embossed celluloid plaque depicting a young girl sewn through the corners to the front wrapper. Housed in the original publisher's blue paper-covered cardboard box with a printed paper paste-on label affixed to the top lid. Gift inscription dated Xmas 1891 on inside front wrapper. Comprising a title page, three text leaves featuring spring-themed poetry printed in brown ink over monochrome botanical drawings, and three full-page chromolithographic plates.
The physical condition of the book is graded NEAR FINE in a FAIR publisher box (utilizing the standard antiquarian book grading scale for works on paper). Internally FINE, with bright chromolithography and clean text leaves. The wrappers exhibit light discoloration to the rear panel and minor toning, remaining structurally sound and unrubbed. The original publisher's box exhibits general shelfwear, split corners and side edges, with small areas of material loss to the top lid sides; the bottom tray shows split corners and sides without structural loss.
Late-Nineteenth-Century Chromolithography and Maud Humphrey's Aesthetic
Published during the height of the Victorian gift book movement, Children of Spring showcases the delicate watercolor draftsmanship and chromolithographic technique that established Maud Humphrey as one of late-nineteenth-century America's premier illustrators of children. Frederick A. Stokes & Brother produced this volume utilizing high-quality color printing to reproduce Humphrey's nuanced watercolor washes alongside monochrome botanical under-drawings framing Edith M. Thomas's verse. The inclusion of tactile decorative components—such as serrated wrapper edges, cord binding, and a sewn embossed celluloid medallion—reflects the period's emphasis on book production as a multi-sensory aesthetic object.
Packaging Ephemerality, Institutional Census, and Market Scarcity
Because light paper wrappers and cardboard gift boxes were designed primarily for holiday presentation rather than long-term structural durability, the survival of late-nineteenth-century publisher packaging is exceptional. The original blue paper box served as a sacrificial housing, absorbing surface wear while preserving the delicate paper wrappers and celluloid plaque of the book within. A current global sweep of the OCLC/WorldCat database locates only 1 copy preserved in institutional special collections worldwide: National Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum.
AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE SURVIVAL PRESERVED IN THE ORIGINAL PUBLISHER'S PRINTED PRESENTATION BOX, REPRESENTING A CRITICAL ACQUISITION FOR INSTITUTIONAL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS OR EXTRAORDINARY PRIVATE COLLECTIONS DEVOTED TO THE HISTORY OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, CHROMOLITHOGRAPHY, OR VICTORIAN BOOK BINDINGS.
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