Illustrations by George T. Devereux and F. O. C. Darley among others. Large 4to, 39 issues bound in contemporary black quarter calf, marbled paper boards, gilt rules and lettering.
An unbroken run of the first four years of this monthly literary periodical for children, edited by Sarah Jane Lippincott and published by her and her husband, Leander K. Lippincott. The Little Pilgrim was first published in 1853, but the 1854 issues were clearly a continuation of the three 1853 issues. The Little Pilgrim ceased publication in 1868; the first three volumes for 1854-1856 are very scarce, and they are rarely accompanied by the three earlier issues that are present here.
The Little Pilgrim was an impressive eithg page quarto newspaper for children, and while it was written mostly by Sarah Jane Lippincott under her well-known pseudonym Grace reenwood, she attracted original contributions from Whittier, Longfellow, James T. Fields, Lydia Sigourney, Bayard Taylor and Lucy Larcom, among others. The three issues from 1853 were not illustrated but beginning in January, 1854, they were nicely adorned with a masthead by F. O. C. Darley and woodcuts by George Devereux and others. The Little Pilgrim interestingly avoilded a religious tone, as stated by the publishers in each issue.
At the foot of the spine is the gilt-stamped name "Bessie Brown," and on the front blank is the inscription "Eliza B. Jeanes to her niece Bessie Brown."