The Tyrolese Minstrels, or the Romance of Every Day Life

Boston, Massachusetts: George W. Light, 1841. First Edition. Hardcover. Good. 24mo 5" - 6" tall. C. Neagus W. Sharp J.C. Sharp. Uber-scarce in the trade, there being currently no additional copies available on-line beyond P.O.D.s. of this First Edition; "1841" appears on both title and copyright page. A perfectly serviceable reference copy; nothing fancy, but complete and sturdy. Publisher's original blind-stamped decorations to front and rear covers, bound in brown cloth, newly backed in creamy brown cloth, gilt-ruled and gilt lettering over black label, quite sharply so. Slight forward cock to spine. Moderate rubbing to covers, tips, extremities, light scuffing along top edges, lighter along bottom, bruising of but not breaking of tips. Lightly waffled text-block, light foxing and toning thereto. Beautiful black-and-white lithograph at frontis, signifying early use thereof of this medium, drawn by Miss C. Neagus and pulled by W. and J. Sharp of Boston. The lithograph is tissue-protected, depicting perhaps a Tyrolean maiden wearing typical dress, a tight bodice, a flouncy hat, and ferns and forest at the back, quite fine. 200 pp. plus [4] pp. of other publisher's newest books. The identity of "A Lady" is alleged by some to be Sarah Josepha Buell Hale (October 24, 1788 - April 30, 1879), an American woman "writer, activist, and editor of the most widely circulated magazine in the period before the Civil War, Godey's Lady's Book" (Wikipedia), author of children's rhyming books, an early campaigner for what became known as Thanksgiving, a supporter of George Washington and the restoration of Bunker Hill as a national monument. As well, she was a friend to and contemporary of the publisher George W. Light and who also published a number of works of poetry and light Americana devoted to housekeeping and rural ways, works such as Keep Cool, Go Ahead; The House-Keeper; The Young Wife, or, the Woman in the Marriage Relation; and others. "From Beef Bouillon to Chromolithography," posted by Julie L. Mellby on September 6, 2007 to the Princeton University web-site devoted to "Graphic Arts," notes that the first American chromolithograph was a portrait of Reverend F. W. P. Greenwood and that it was pulled by one of C. Neagus's colleagues, William Sharp, in 1840 and that the first American book to feature chromolithographs was published in that same year by Morris Mattson (1809-1885), The American Vegetable Practice, or, A New and Improved Guide to Health, Designed for the Use of Families (Boston: Published by Daniel L. Hale). That volume contained 26 plates; 24 were drawn by the author, by Sharp and by Miss C. Neagus and Mrs. Anne Hill. All in, a Good condition, sturdy exemplar, rebound, of a title scarcely found in the trade. The title, however, does not appear in the Allibone Critical Dictionary entry for her (pp. 758-759). For now, the true identity of "A Lady" remains unknown.Member, I.O.B.A., C.B.A., and adherent to the highest ethical standards. Additional postage may be required for oversize or especially heavy volumes, and for sets.