1926 – RUMPTY-DUDGET’S TOWER: A Fairy Tale by Julian Hawthorne. Vintage & RARE soft cover book

This is illustrated by George W. Wood. This includes 15 pages of illustrations, including a frontispiece and illustrated title page, which are all present and accounted for. 

This book was published by George G. Harrap & Co., Ltd, 39-41 Parker Street, Kingsway, London in 1926. It was printed in Great Britain by The Riverside Press Ltd., Edinburgh. It is part of ‘The Little Story Books’ series. 

The dark green cloth bound soft cover and spine are intact and in a good condition for its age, being nearly 100 years old. However, there is some wear to the cover, more-so to the edges and corners, a little loss of cloth at the top and bottom of the spine, some marks, including some small ink marks, and light creases. The front cover has dark green lettering and an illustration, and there is further dark green lettering on the spine.  Please see the photographs provided for further reference. 

Inside, the pages are lightly tanned, which is consistent for a book of this age. There is light foxing on the pages throughout the book and the occasional other small mark. However, the pages are in an overall neat state, with only the very occasional light crease. There are many instances where there are small rips to the bottom of the central binding between the pages, although these are minor. There are also some small rips on the pastedown, inside of the front cover, and a couple of further pages which have small rips at their edges. None of these obscure the text or the pictures. There is no pen or pencil written inside this book. Between a handful of pages there is a slight crack in the gutter, and a slightly larger crack between pages 48 and 49 (see photo), but there are no loose pages. There are no missing pages and so all 96 pages are present. Please study the photos carefully as to the condition of this book, as they do form part of the description.  

This measures approximately 15.2 cm by 12.4 cm and 0.9 cm wide. It weighs approximately 93 grams.  

The author of this book, Julian Hawthorne, was an American writer and journalist born on June 22, 1846, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the son of the renowned author Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife, Sophia Hawthorne. Growing up in a literary household, Julian Hawthorne developed a passion for writing and literature from an early age.

Julian Hawthorne passed away on July 21, 1934, at the age of 88 in Paris, France. While his works may not have achieved the same level of recognition as his father's, he left behind a body of work that reflects his talent and literary heritage. 

This book, Rumpty-Dudget's Tower: A Fairy Tale, was first published in 1924, so this is a very early edition. It is a charming small book and a fairy-tale for children. 

Thank you so much for looking.