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Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney (First Edition, First Printing), 1880 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦📜🏛️

Name: Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney (First Edition, First Printing), 1880 👨👩👧👦📜🏛️
Brand: Wall Antiques
Price: 4250.00 USD
Availability: InStock

$4,250.00

Sale Sold out

1. Introduction 📜🔍🏛️ T

his is a genuinely rare and a foundational work of American children's literature, Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney. This book, a first edition from 1880, is a highly sought-after artifact for collectors of classic American literature and children's books. It offers a unique window into the ideals of family, resilience, and virtue in the Victorian era. This edition is a tangible connection to the enduring legacy of a celebrated author.

The book's popularity led to twelve sequels, making it one of the most successful children's series of all time. It is a cultural artifact, capturing the ideals of optimism and a strong moral backbone that defined the era.

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew is a children's novel that originally appeared in serialized form in the children’s magazine Wide Awake. The story is a series of vignettes that follow the lives of the five Pepper children—Polly, Ben, Joel, Davie, and Phronsie—and their widowed mother, “Mamsie.” The narrative is a series of adventures and daily struggles, all handled with a sense of optimism and a strong moral backbone.

The book is a primary source for any scholar or dedicated reader of 19th-century American children's literature. It provides a crucial look at the moralistic and didactic themes prevalent in children's fiction of the era, which can be seen in its portrayal of poverty and family life. The book's cultural impact led to it becoming a foundational work of American children's literature and a model for subsequent family sagas.

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️

Harriett Mulford Stone Lothrop (1844-1924), who wrote under the pen name Margaret Sidney, was an American author and philanthropist. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, she began her literary career by writing for children's magazines. Her stories about the Pepper family became an instant sensation.

Lothrop's legacy extends beyond her writing. She was also a dedicated preservationist, founding the National Society of the Children of the American Revolution and working to preserve historic homes in Concord, Massachusetts. She was a progressive thinker for her time, and her work provides a crucial perspective on the lives of children in the late 19th century. Her dedication to preserving American history and her passion for children's education cemented her place as a prominent figure in the Gilded Age.

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜

Published in 1880, this book is a reflection of the Gilded Age in America, a period of immense social and economic change. The book’s publication reflects a widespread desire for stories that focused on wholesome family values and a simpler way of life. The book provides a window into late 19th-century American literary and social thought.

It captures the spirit of an era defined by rapid industrialization and a growing urban population, providing a nostalgic look back at a rural and domestic ideal. The book's narrative of an impoverished but virtuous family provides a crucial perspective on the social and economic anxieties of the time.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️

This book is intended for a curator of rare children’s literature, a scholar of American social history, or a private collector of Victorian literature. It is an ideal acquisition for an individual who values a book's dual significance as a foundational literary document and a physical artifact of its time.

This book is an essential piece for an individual building a library that tells the story of American childhood and the evolution of children's literature.

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️

As a rare first edition, first printing, this book represents a genuinely scarce non-replicable asset class. First editions of classic children's books are highly sought after and difficult to find in good condition due to being heavily read and loved.

A well-preserved copy without major flaws is a genuine rarity. The book's "gift" binding, with its decorative gilt stamping, was intended to be beautiful and durable, but many copies were not well-cared for.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨

This volume is a handsome survivor from the late 19th century, showing honest and authentic wear consistent with its age. The original decorative cloth cover shows some rubbing and scuffing, particularly along the edges and on the spine. The binding remains solid and tight, though it shows some signs of use and age.

The pages have some expected toning and light foxing throughout, a natural process for paper from this period, which gives it authenticity.
The pages are free from any major tears or stains, and the interior text block is clean.
The book is free of any detached or loose pages. There are no major marks or previous owner's scribbles, making this a pristine copy for a book of its time.

8. Translation of Inscriptions/Ephemera (Conditional) ✍️📜🔤

This book contains no known inscriptions or unique markings from a previous owner. The value is derived from its well-preserved state as an authentic piece of 19th-century American bookmaking. Its beauty lies in its original state, unmarred by the personal history of its past owners.

The absence of an inscription means that the book's narrative is purely historical and literary. It is a blank canvas, waiting for a new collector to add their chapter to its long and dignified life.

9. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

The author, Harriett Mulford Stone, wrote her first stories about the Pepper family in the children's magazine Wide Awake in 1878. The stories were so popular that readers wrote in demanding more, which led to the creation of the novel.
A year after the book's serialization, she married the publisher, Daniel Lothrop.
The home where the Lothrops lived, The Wayside in Concord, Massachusetts, is a National Historic Landmark. It was also the home of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women.
The book’s success led to the publication of eleven sequels, which followed the Pepper children into adulthood.