Description
Very Good+ dust jacket. Very Good+ binding is beige cloth over boards, gilt stamping on the cover and spine. Decorated end papers. Color illustrations throughout by Sarah Ban Breathnach. The “1” is present on the number line on copyright page which is the designation of first edition. The pages are clean and the binding is tight. book measures 8.5″ tall x 10.8″ wide.
About the book (from the dust jacket)
Of all the romantic and enduring images of Victorian life we hold most dear, nothing matches our nostalgia for that of the nursery at the top of the stairs, where baby reigned as King or Queen over hearts and hearths. Set apart from the world of grown-ups, this was a magical kingdom, “Where all the children dine at five,” Robert Louis Stevenson reminisced, “and all the playthings come
alive.”
Now this enchanting realm comes to life in The Victorian Nursery Companion, a sublime evocation of nineteenth-century childhood created and compiled by Sarah Ban Breathnach. Here is a unique and original anthology that will tug at the heart of everyone who has ever known or loved a baby, As sentimental as new parents and grandparents, as adorable as infants, as endearing as toddlers and brimming over with old-fashioned images of beautiful children and happy families, it will produce a smile on the faces of both the giver and receiver.
Inspired by an antique book of Victorian lullabies, this charming collection combines long-forgotten children’s poetry with affectionate glimpses into the tradition, ritual, and lore of nineteenth-century nursery life, from a peek at Queen Victoria’s nursery to a sampler of favorite nursery food recipes. How Victorian infants were trained to sleep through the night, what they wore, and how they grew up are all delightfully explored in the prose drawn from baby books, child-rearing guides, and publications of the era, A hundred glorious Victorian paintings, illustrations from antique children’s books, period photographs, and ephemera fill the pages of this nostalgic scrapbook intended to become a treasured keepsake for a new generation of children. Prominently featured in this unusual volume are the works of the Victorian era’s most beloved women illustrators from both sides of the Atlantic, including Maud Humphrey, Ida Waugh, Jessie Willcox Smith, Kate Greenaway, Harriet Bennett, and Helen Allingham. In addition, throughout The Victorian Nursery Companion are ten blank “Memory Pages” allowing readers to personalize the book for their own precious newcomer. No new parent will be able to resist tucking a photograph showing “Our Favorite Picture of You Sleeping” into a book of Victorian lullabies, thereby creating an instant memoir and the perfect new baby gift book. For both families and lovers of Victoriana, The Victorian Nursery Companion is bound to become a book that will be cherished for years to come.
About the author (from the dust jacket)
SARAH BAN BREATHNACH is the author of Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions: Nostalgic Suggestions for Recreating the Family Celebrations and Seasonal Pas times of the Victorian Home, published by Simon & Schuster in 1990. She is a feature writer and radio broadcaster, whose articles have been syndicated by the Los Angeles Times and whose nationally syndicated column, “Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions,” was written for The Washington Post Writers Group Sarah is also the creator and narrator of American Public Radio’s special twelve-part series, “Come Celebrate: A Scrapbook of American Holidays and Traditions. She lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with her husband, Edward Sharp, and daughter Katie.
