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"May blessings be upon the head of Cadmus, the Phoenicians, or whoever it was that invented books." -Thomas Carlyle
Welcome to my virtual book collection. Since collecting actual books is somewhat cost-prohibitive, I've begun to amass all of the books I would love to have if I had the means. Some are new, lots are old, all are unique or beautiful or unusual or in some other way have captured my fancy. Enjoy browsing!
Special Collections: Fine Bindings ~ Fairies and Fairy Tales ~ Terror and Madness ~ Poetry ~ Food, Drink and Apothecary ~ Science Fiction ~ Illuminations, Lettering and Hand-Coloring ~ Magic ~ Supernatural and Occult ~ Alchemy ~ Science and Technical ~ Maritime ~ Costumes ~ Humor ~ Children's books ~ Legend of King Arthur ~ Americana ~ 18th Century ~ 19th Century Authors and illustrators: Edgar Allan Poe ~ Jules Verne ~ Edmund Dulac ~ Kay Nielsen ~ Arthur Rackham ~ Edward Gorey ~ Charles Dickens ~ H.P. Lovecraft ~ William Hope Hodgson ~ Mark Twain ~ Lewis Carroll ~ Salvador Dali ~ George Cruikshank ~ Emily Dickinson ~ Geoffrey Chaucer ~ H.G. Wells
Three Vassar Girls Abroad
Elizabeth Williams Champney, Boston: Estes and Lauriat, 1883.
First edition, original pictorial boards, 4to, (front board creased, rear board lacking one corner, scattered soiling, extremity wear).
From the Vassar College Encyclopedia:
“Two years later, Champney finished the first of what would become a long series of “Three Vassar Girls” novels. Three Vassar Girls Abroad, illustrated throughout by Champ, recounts a lively tale of three Vassar students – Maud Van Vechten, the wealthy society girl; Barbara Atchison, the equally wealthy yet slightly eccentric West coaster; and Cecilia Boylston, the starving artist from Boston – on a leisurely romp across Europe. Over the next fourteen years, Champney produced ten more “Three Vassar Girls” volumes, situated everywhere from England to Switzerland to the Holy Land. Employing a “conversational” writing style, Champney managed both to entertain her young readers and to whet their intellectual appetites. In a typical “Three Vassar Girls” novel, the main characters tackle pertinent issues like bigotry and career development, while swooning over cute boys and attending garden parties.”
