LUCRETIA P. HALE (1820-1900) is best known as the author of a series of stories about a family named Peterkin, the first of which appeared in 1867 in the magazine Our Young Folks (later St. Nicholas Magazine). The series continued for nine years, and made the Peterkins a household name. This book collects all of Lucretia Hale’s beloved tales of a thoroughly silly family.The Peterkin Papers record the antics of the most memorably and hopelessly bumbling of respectable American families. Confronted by the endless challenges of daily life, the Peterkins rise to every occasion with misguided aplomb: they sit out in the sun for hours and fail to go for a ride because they’ve forgotten to unhitch the horse, they play the piano from the porch through the parlor window because the movers left the keyboard turned that way, they decide to raise the ceiling to accommodate a too-tall Christmas tree. Only the timely intervention of their great and good friend, the Lady from Philadelphia, can be counted on to get the Peterkins out of their latest scrape. A classic of American children’s literature and a masterpiece of deadpan drollery, The Peterkin Papers restore our astonishment at the ordinary, finding a rich vein of humor and happy surprise in the mere fact of our surviving the trivialities and tribulations of family life.

First published in 1880, this Second Edition contains the original illustrations by F. G. Attwood (4 plates and numerous little drawings) which really give the period flavor of the characters in the book. Nineteenth century copies of this book are scarce. Although this one has its issues, it is still a nice, and nicely priced collectible.

BOOK DESCRIPTION/CONDITION: Stated Second Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Blue-grey cloth hardcover illustrated in black title in gilt, similar on spine, decorated patterned color endpapers. Spine end, corner, and spots of edge wear, other spots and wear spots on boards and spine. Front hinge loose but holding. Name/address/date of previous owner on a front blank endpaper in contemporary pen and pencil. Binding a little shaken but no loose pages or sections. Sporadic foxing/smudging sometimes sparse. The only page tear observed is the last endpaper. Another inscription in pencil and contemporary pen on blank endpaper in rear. 6 1/2" x 8 5/8" x 7/8"

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