New Found Tales From Many Lands by Joseph Burke Egan (1930 First Edition) - Boston Bookseller Stamp 📚🌍🦋

This volume is an authenticated First Edition, First Printing of New Found Tales From Many Lands, published by The John C. Winston Company in 1930.

The book is a collection of vibrant children's tales and folklore, curated by Joseph Burke Egan, an established Massachusetts Headmaster. Its collectible value is anchored by its First Edition status and its stunning illustrations by Frederick Richardson.

The book's historical importance is further magnified by the unique bookseller stamp from The Personal Book Shop in Boston, Massachusetts, providing a direct, traceable commercial history that is highly sought after by collectors of regional Americana and bookselling ephemera.

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨

New Found Tales From Many Lands is an anthology of 22 diverse short stories and legends compiled for younger readers. The tales were drawn from various global cultures, demonstrating a broad, early 20th-century American interest in world folklore. The chapter list includes stories like "The Queen of the Piskies Welcomed Little John to the Enchanted Lake," "Atosi threw off the cloak of the butterfly and became a handsome young brave," and "The Huge Red Eagle Swooped Down Upon Ne-Qua-la".

The book is an example of the Golden Age of Illustration, featuring a stunning pictorial paste-down cover and a vibrant color frontispiece. The frontispiece illustration, which depicts a youth with large butterfly wings being greeted by native people, is an evocative example of the era's fantasy and exoticism.

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️

The author, Joseph Burke Egan, A.M., was an educator, listed as the Headmaster, Harvard Frothingham School District in Charlestown, Massachusetts. His position as a respected academic and educator is a key selling point, as it places the book within the context of early 20th-century educational thought regarding children's literacy and cultural exposure. The book's illustrator, Frederick Richardson, was a noted American artist known for his contributions to the Golden Age of Illustration, lending the volume significant artistic merit. Richardson's collaborations, which often featured whimsical, detailed, and brightly colored works, were highly influential in shaping the visual culture of children's literature in the 1920s and 1930s.

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜

This book was published in 1930, at the very start of the Great Depression, a period marked by economic devastation and profound social change. Yet, it remains an artifact of the enduring optimism and escapism of the early 20th century.

The book’s structure, which focuses on collecting folklore "from many lands," reflects the educational and cultural trend of emphasizing internationalism and comparative literature in the pre-war era. For a nation facing economic collapse, the book provided a necessary flight of imagination, transporting readers to "The Queen of the Piskies" and other exotic locales. The volume documents the brief, late period where high-quality color illustration was economically viable before the Depression fully tightened the purse strings of American publishing houses, serving as a time capsule of the artistic vibrancy of the pre-Depression era.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️

This volume is tailored for a Curator of American Juvenile Literature and a collector of Early 20th-Century Children's Book Illustration. The Ideal Collector seeks authenticated First Editions from the Golden Age of Illustration that carry unique, verifiable geographical history.

The book belongs in a collection focused on the Literary History of Massachusetts and New England Bookselling, making the Boston bookseller stamp a key feature. This piece is a clean, aesthetically compelling historical object that perfectly blends educational purpose with fantasy art, making it an ideal display item for a high-end library.

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️

This book is an authenticated First Edition, First Printing from 1930 and is 95 years old. Its rarity is defined by its status as an early edition of children's literature, which typically had a low survival rate due to heavy use.

The book lacks a dust jacket, which triggers a mandatory deduction from its maximum aspirational price. However, the value is secured by the Aesthetic Premium of the vibrant pictorial cover and the Ephemera Premium of the unique bookseller stamp. This combination of First Edition content and verifiable Boston commercial history makes the volume a strong investment in a documented cultural artifact.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨

This is an authenticated First Edition hardcover lacking the original dust jacket. The binding is a red cloth with a color pictorial paste-down on the front board.

• Positive Qualities:

  • The binding is secure, with the book retaining its structural integrity.

  • The color pictorial paste-down on the front board is bright and crisp, retaining its aesthetic appeal.

  • The vibrant color frontispiece by Frederick Richardson is intact and clean.

  • The historical bookseller stamp is clearly legible on the inside front cover.

• Imperfections:

  • The red cloth spine is sunned and darkened, and there is rubbing to the spine ends.

  • The boards show general shelf wear and minor edge rubbing.

  • The book contains a handwritten price notation "15" in the top corner of the flyleaf.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

• The publisher, The John C. Winston Company, was a major American publishing house known for its Bibles, dictionaries, and a strong line of popular juvenile fiction and series.

• The elaborate and highly decorated pictorial covers of this era were designed to make the books immediately appealing to children, representing the height of book art before the austerity of the Great Depression took hold.

• The dedication to "NEW FOUND TALES FROM MANY LANDS" directly reflects a contemporary belief in the educational power of cultural exchange through folklore, a key aspect of early 20th-century American education.

• The presence of "The Personal Book Shop" stamp confirms the book was originally purchased at a known bookseller on St. James Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts, providing a clear geographical and commercial history for the collector of regional Americana.

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

• Title: New Found Tales From Many Lands

• Author: Joseph Burke Egan, A.M.

• Illustrator: Frederick Richardson

• Year of Publication: 1930 (Copyright and Published Date)

• Publisher: The John C. Winston Company

• Place of Origin: Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto (Published in the USA at The International Press)

• Format/Binding: Hardcover, Red Cloth with Color Pictorial Paste-down

• Edition: First Edition, First Printing (Copyright 1930)

• Rarity: Moderate Scarcity (Children's First Edition), Unique Bookseller Ephemera

• Verbatim Transcription of Marking:

  • Book Stamp: “The Personal Book Shop. 95 St. James Avenue. Boston, Mass.”

  • Handwritten Price: “15” (Written in pencil on the top corner of the flyleaf).