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xi, [1], 209, [1] + [14] ad pp. Illustrated with drawings by Reginald B. Birch. 21.2x16 cm. (8½x6¼")), original pictorial blue cloth. First Edition.

First issue, with The De Vinne Press imprint at verso of last page of text and number 14 printed on the lower left margin of page 209. Burnett’s first childrens novel, Little Lord Fauntleroy was originally published as a serial in the St. Nicholas Magazine between November 1885 and October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's in 1886. Burnett based Little Lord Fauntleroy's character on her young son, Vivian. The accompanying illustrations by Reginald Birch set fashion trends, and the book was so popular that there was a craze of mothers dressing their sons with velvet suits and lace collars based on Oscar Wilde's attire, as well as looking like a hero. Little Lord Fauntleroy set a precedent in copyright law when in 1888 its author won a lawsuit against E. V. Seebohm over the rights to theatrical adaptations of the work. The work spawned a number of films, the most successful starring Freddie Bartholomew as Little Lord Fauntleroy, released in 1936. BAL 2064; Peter Parley to Penrod, p. 80.