Who Stole the Bird's Nest?
Boston: L. Prang & Company, [1864-65 Huntington Library]; ivory glazed card cover on the front a delicate green lithograph of hand lettered title and mother bird returning to her nest, on the back "Prang's Album Pictures, for sale in all bookstores, books for children, valentines, etc" surrounds logo; cover encloses an attached pull out panorama or fanfold of 12 detailed coloured lithographs; 4.35x2.5". (over 18" long extended) One of the six little books in this series that were also published together in a box as the Christmas Stocking Library. . Toploader small softcover, novelty panorama, story.
Though this lovely, rare, lithographed strip would stand just as decoration, it tells a story as well: First the yellow breast discovers her eggs and nest are missing, then she goes from animal to animal asking about her nest, then the birds and animals converge on the school demanding justice, and Mary Green and Alice Neal sympathize. But "a little boy hung down his head/and went and hid behind the bed/for HE stole that pretty nest/ From poor little yellow breast! And he felt so full of shame/He didn't like to tell his name.... No adult moralizing here at all.
CONDITION: Good Plus; clean card folder with rubbed corners and small inked name on front; small chips to spine ends, professionally repaired partial spine split (no tape); the panorama is in beautiful shape, no wear to sharp creases, clean, with some margin foxing on two pages. Item #19765
Price: $485.00