Children in Prison and Other Cruelties by (WILDE, Oscar) - 1898

London: Murdoch & Co, 1898. First separate edition. String-bound. Near fine. 12mo, 16pp. A clean, sound copy in the publisher's printed wrappers, near fine. This copy with the staple perished, replaced by a professional conservator with archival string, and a few very small paper repairs to spine. Tiny stain to the front wrap, else a handsome copy indeed of this scarce and fragile Wilde volume, a plea for mercy in the case of Warder Martin of Reading Gaol, a particularly humane and empathetic prison guard who was dismissed, Wilde asserts, for his humanity towards prisoners. Wilde had grown to know Martin well during his imprisonment. The text was first published in the Daily Chronicle, and this pamphlet represents the first separate edition. Mason 26.