True Stories from History and Biography

Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1851 First edition, first printing. Publisher's green boards with design in blind to covers, titles in gilt to spine, light yellow endpapers. A very good copy with some rubbing to covers, wear to spine ends, light rubbing and dimming to gilt, inner hinges repaired with endpapers laid back down, closed 2-inch vertical tear along rear outer hinge with glue repair, light soiling to endpapers, and some spotting to title page and throughout. Overall, a solid copy in the original cloth. BAL 7655. Housed in a custom cloth slipcase with folding chemise. True Stories from History and Biography was written by Hawthorne as a means of educating the youth on notable events and figures in American history. In the main story, "The Whole History of Grandfather's Chair," an old man tells his grandchildren the long and winding history of his "strange-looking old chair," which dates back to the Puritans' arrival on Plymouth Rock. In the "Biographical Stories" section of the book, Hawthorne tells engaging tales about some of the most famous British and early American figures, including Benjamin Franklin, Oliver Cromwell, and Sir Isaac Newton, devoting considerable portions of these stories to their childhood days. While this book is somewhat of a departure from Hawthorne's adult classics, like The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of Seven Gables (1851), it has Hawthorne's trademarks of history, moral instruction, and pristine prose. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good.