Journal de Christine
- Paris: Bossange Frères, 1825
Paris: Bossange Frères, 1825. Very Good -. Paris: Bossange Frères, n.d. [ca. 1825]. Presumed First French Edition. Oblong octavo (14.5 x 23 cm); publisher’s pictorial lilac paper-covered boards adorned with vignettes of two young girls, one skipping rope, the other playing badminton; iii,[4]-134pp.; six leaves of hand-colored aquatint plates. Ex-library with the early 20th-century gift bookplate to front free endpaper “From the books in the Children’s Room / A memorial to Nathaniel Thayer 1898–1927,” with Nathaniel Thayer’s personal bookplate on facing front pastedown (marred by deaccessioned rubber-stamps), otherwise free of library markings. Margins quite scuffed and rubbed with rather extensive chipping and exposure of boards beneath, front joint starting to crack but holding, else a Good to Very Good copy in this striking publisher’s binding, contents fresh and sound.
Attributed to the German author Philipp Joseph Schalbacher, Journal de Christine adopts the form of a pedagogical study made by the father of two young children, a boy of five and a girl of four whom he observes without too much interference "knowing full well that, in order to bring oneself to their level of childlike personhood, one must avoid wielding over their inclinations any tyrannical constraint" (from the Preface, our translation).
The publisher's binding beautifully encapsulates this spirit, the upper cover (repeating an image adorning the title page) depicting two young girls jumping rope and playing badminton—education which permits pleasure and sport while also encouraging good behavior and piety.
Exceedingly uncommon institutionally, with three copies of this edition only as of August, 2024, all separately catalogued—at Texas A&M, the Morgan, and the BNF. Princeton adds a copy of the 1837 reprint edition. While this work arises periodically on the market, we find no copies in this lovely variant of the publisher's binding.
Attributed to the German author Philipp Joseph Schalbacher, Journal de Christine adopts the form of a pedagogical study made by the father of two young children, a boy of five and a girl of four whom he observes without too much interference "knowing full well that, in order to bring oneself to their level of childlike personhood, one must avoid wielding over their inclinations any tyrannical constraint" (from the Preface, our translation).
The publisher's binding beautifully encapsulates this spirit, the upper cover (repeating an image adorning the title page) depicting two young girls jumping rope and playing badminton—education which permits pleasure and sport while also encouraging good behavior and piety.
Exceedingly uncommon institutionally, with three copies of this edition only as of August, 2024, all separately catalogued—at Texas A&M, the Morgan, and the BNF. Princeton adds a copy of the 1837 reprint edition. While this work arises periodically on the market, we find no copies in this lovely variant of the publisher's binding.