(Description)
Author: Selma Lagerlof. Translated and edited by Velma Swanston Howard. Illustrated by Mary Hamilton Frye.
Title: THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF NILS. From the Swedish of Selma Lagerlof. Translated and edited by Velma Swanston Howard. Illustrated by Mary Hamilton Frye.
Language: Text in English.
Publisher: Garden City, New York, Doubleday, Page and Company, 1913. First US illustrated Edition by Mary Hamilton Frye.
Size: 9.5 " X 7 ".
Pages: xv-263 pages.
Binding: Attractive and near fine original illustrated full-cloth binding (hinges fine, overall slightly scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Near fine content (bright, tight, and clean - as shown, ex-libris of a previous owner, Lucy Estabrook Getty, on the first endpaper - as shown ).
Illustrations: Complete with twenty-four beautiful color illustrations by Mary Hamilton Frye.
Estimate: (USD 250 - USD 300)
The book: Rare in such a near fine condition, the First American illustrated Edition by Mary Hamilton Frye of The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (Swedish: Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige, literally Nils Holgersson's wonderful journey across Sweden) is a work of fiction by the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in literature. It was originally published in two books, 1906 and 1907, and was first published in English as The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (1907) and The Further Adventures of Nils (1911). The two parts are later usually published together, in English as The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, but that name may also refer to the first part alone.
The illustrator: Mary Hamilton Frye (April 18, 1890 – May 18, 1951) was an American stained glass artist and children's book illustrator.
Mary Hamilton Frye was born in Salem, Massachusetts on April 18, 1890. Her parents were Nathan Frye and Alice H. Chase. Her family later moved to Cambridge around 1896 and lived at 10 Acacia Street in Cambridge.
Frye was educated at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She initially became a children's book illustrator, illustrating many works including the Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf.
The author: Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author. She published her first novel, Gösta Berling's Saga, at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she was awarded in 1909. Additionally, she was the first woman to be granted a membership in the Swedish Academy in 1914.