{"product_id":"1910-deans-rag-book-the-menagerie-charles-kingsley-cook","title":"The Menagerie (Code No. 102)","description":"\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"10\"\u003e(Zoo Animals) The Menagerie (Code No. 102); illustrated by Charles Kingsley Cook. London: Dean's Rag Book Co., Ltd., between 1910-1919. FIRST EDITION. 8vo - 8-1\/8\" x 6-11\/16\". [14] butterfly-folded double cloth pages including wrappers. Original publisher's [2] pp. advertising slip laid in.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"11\"\u003eBound in red cloth-backed color pictorial limp cloth wrappers, sewn as issued. The textile edges exhibit the publisher's standard serrated pinking to the head and foot. The condition of the book is \u003cstrong\u003eFINE\u003c\/strong\u003e, with both the external wrappers and the internal textile pages remaining flawless and free of the usual nursery laundering, staining, or fading.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"12\"\u003eTechnical Construction and Edwardian Zoo Iconography\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"13\"\u003ePatented in 1902 by Henry Samuel Dean, the Dean’s Rag Book Company manufactured children's books utilizing \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"13\" data-index-in-node=\"107\"\u003ewashable cotton cloth sheets\u003c\/b\u003e printed with colorfast, non-toxic inks to endure nursery handling. This copy of \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"13\" data-index-in-node=\"216\"\u003eThe Menagerie\u003c\/i\u003e (Code No. 102) utilizes the firm's signature \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"13\" data-index-in-node=\"275\"\u003e\"butterfly fold\" construction\u003c\/b\u003e. In this format, the linen leaves are printed on one side only and bound back-to-back, creating double-thickness pages that simulate the structural rigidity of a traditional board book while retaining full flexibility.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"14\"\u003eThe text serves as a zoological primer illustrated by Charles Kingsley Cook, an Edwardian painter and illustrator known for his anatomical precision and animal portraiture. Cook's bold outlines and heavily saturated color compositions depict a variety of captive exotic fauna, with dedicated pages for flamingoes, an elephant, a porcupine, and an eagle. The work reflects the early twentieth-century British cultural focus on public menageries and imperial wildlife exhibitions as educational tools for young children.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"15\"\u003eScarcity, Institutional Census, and Ephemera Survival\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"16\"\u003eBecause textile toy books were treated as playthings rather than library volumes, the vast majority of copies were dragged, chewed, washed, and destroyed. Finding an example from the pre-World War I era that avoids degradation and retains its original ink intensity is uncommon. The archival value of this copy is further enhanced by the presence of the original \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"16\" data-index-in-node=\"363\"\u003etwo-page publisher's advertising insert\u003c\/b\u003e. These fragile, paper-printed slips were designed to be discarded at the point of sale, resulting in a near-zero survival rate. The ephemera preserves contemporary bibliographic documentation, including pricing schedules and active toy book checklist titles for the period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"17\"\u003eA current global institutional search via \u003cstrong\u003eWorldCat\u003c\/strong\u003e confirms the extreme scarcity of this edition, locating \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"17\" data-index-in-node=\"112\"\u003eonly a single copy in permanent public collections worldwide\u003c\/b\u003e, preserved within the permanent holdings of the \u003cstrong\u003ePrinceton University Library\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"18\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"18\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eA FLAWLESS EDWARDIAN TEXTILE SURVIVAL RETAINING THE ORIGINAL PUBLISHER'S ADVERTISING INSERT, OF PRIMARY SIGNIFICANCE FOR SPECIALIZED COLLECTIONS DOCUMENTING MATERIAL CULTURE, NINETEENTH-CENTURY TOY PRINTING, AND ZOOLOGICAL ILLUSTRATION.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e# 001111\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wallace \u0026 Clark, Booksellers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41887445811349,"sku":"001111","price":375.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0459\/2589\/2245\/products\/menagerie.01.20220205.jpg?v=1644118351","url":"https:\/\/wallaceandclark.com\/products\/1910-deans-rag-book-the-menagerie-charles-kingsley-cook","provider":"Wallace \u0026 Clark, Booksellers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}