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iv, [5]-142 (i.e. 144) pp. Lacking one leaf (pp. 31/32) this leaf supplied in facsimile from the Library of Congress copy, finely printed in letterpress at the Arion Press on a sheet of dampened handmade paper, tinted to match the other pages. Woodcut illustrations throughout. 32 full-page plates, some with two illustrations. (Small 8vo) modern morocco-backed blue cloth, spine ruled and lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers. First Edition.

First edition of the first Peter Parley book. Over 100 different titles were issued with the Peter Parley name by Goodrich and others, including perhaps most notable Nathaniel Hawthorne, compiler of the 1837 Peter Parley's Universal History. There were also numerous spurious imitations. One of the rarest of American children's books. Jacob Blank, in his Peter Parley to Penrod, located only the Harvard copy. The Morgan catalog added the Barrett copy at UVA. OCLC currently locates 9 copies. Only four copies appear in auction records: Sotheby's 1974; Sotheby's 1982 (the Oppenheimer copy); Swann 1992 (the Epstein copy); and Sotheby's 1995. Grolier American 35; Peter Parley to Penrod 1; PML Children's Literature 49.

Ink presentation on the title page to "Master George Edmund Upfold, from his affectionate friend G. W. Doane," The two men were Episcopal priests and among the founders of St. Luke in the Fields, Greenwich Village, New York City. Because Upfold was born in England and became a naturalized American citizen, Doane may have thought The Tales of Peter Parley about America an appropriate gift. George Upfold (great-great grandfather of our consignor) later became first Episcopal bishop of the state of Indiana. George Washington Doane later became Episcopal bishop of New Jersey. Provenance: George Upfold to his daughter Sophia, and through descent to the current owner.