Sunny Days and Children's Ways: A Coloured Picture Book for the Nursery.
London: T. Nelson and Sons, 1867 on title page, originally in parts [Home 1865].; [one of Nelson's 3 Oil Coloured 2s 6d Picture Books], reddish brown cloth boards, with fine gilt titles and picture in stamped border, plain endpapers, mauve print title page, 32 pp of illustrations printed on one-sided pages in oil colours, 7.25x10.8; np. Picture Book hardback.
An early use of printed oil colour, with the hues ranging from bright to violent. Four very different books bound together and titled as one, each including 8 large pictures with poems beneath:
Sunny Days, (with pretty little children by Ed Morin, H. Linton); Home for the Holidays, vivid vignettes of real children at play, dropped in later editions ,
Right and Wrong (with naughty, cruel children vs. good children, also dropped, by K. M., G. Dalziek); and
Picture Rhymes of Happy Times (with more elegant pictures surrounding bland text by Keely, Al Swell).
In "Home" boys invent little cannons, a sister wins a race against her brother, loose bonnet or no, and children play at dress up battles and mock teaparties with funny dialogue. "Home" was earlier published separately, [Bookseller 1865] with these engravings from woodblocks by Kenny Meadows, an artist and Punch contributor, but it is rare.
CONDITION: Good only, faded cloth badly lifted on upper front board near spine, all corners bumped to 1" & rubbed through, Miss Anna Palmgren has written her name on Introductory & on top of front board, soil on "Poor Birds," some margin tears. Price was 2/6. Item #14874
$210