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The Water Babies
by Charles Kingsley
- Used
- Hardcover
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
New York, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
KINGSLEY, Charles. The Water Babies. Illustrated in Color by A.E. Jackson. London: Humphrey Milford/Oxford University Press [1929]. 8vo, 252pp. Gray- blue cloth pictorially stamped in gilt and navy; t.e.g. Pictorial endpapers; 16 color plates, pictorial title, and small b&w illustrations at chapter heads and tails. Spine sunned and rubbed at edges, corners a bit rubbed, cover slightly soiled. Some light foxing throughout, mostly in page margins (no plates affected), else a very attractive copy.
1929 reprint (first published in 1920). Tom, a young chimney sweep, falls into a river after being chased from a house by an upper-class girl. There he appears to drown only to transform into a "water-baby." Kingsley's allegory of Christian redemption is also a thinly veiled protest of the mistreatment of the poor in 19th century England and the practice of child labor. This classic children's fantasy was first issued in 1863, two years before Lewis Carroll's Alice. A.E. Jackson's gorgeous watercolor highlight this lush edition.
Synopsis
The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby is a children's novel by the Reverend Charles Kingsley. Written in 1862-1863 as a serial for Macmillan's Magazine, it was first published in its entirety in 1863. The book was extremely popular during its day, and was a mainstay of children's literature through the 1920s, but eventually fell out of favor in part due to its prejudices against Irish, Jews, Catholics, blacks, Americans, and the poor. In the style of Victorian-era novels, The Water-Babies is a didactic moral fable about a young chimney sweep, Tom, who falls into a river and becomes a 'water-baby,' guided by moral teachers through lessons and adventures, eventually earning the right to become human again and being united with an upper-class girl Ellie who had also become a 'water-baby.'
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Details
- Bookseller
- Books of Wonder
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 1049354
- Title
- The Water Babies
- Author
- Charles Kingsley
- Illustrator
- A.E. Jackson
- Format/Binding
- Gray- blue cloth pictorially stamped in gilt and navy
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Reprint
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Humphrey Milford
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1929
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Size
- 8vo
Terms of Sale
Books of Wonder
10 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Books of Wonder
Biblio member since 2020
New York, New York
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About Books of Wonder
Books of Wonder is NYC's oldest and largest independent children's bookstore, specializing in both new and old books. Established in 1980, Books of Wonder has a store in the Flatiron/Chelsea area of Manhattan.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Poor
- A book with significant wear and faults. A poor condition book is still a reading copy with the full text still readable. Any...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Soiled
- Generally refers to minor discoloration or staining.
- Reprint
- Any printing of a book which follows the original edition. By definition, a reprint is not a first edition.
- Sunned
- Damage done to a book cover or dust jacket caused by exposure to direct sunlight. Very strong fluorescent light can cause slight...
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