Children’s Books 1850–1881 part 16

The first section of this series (parts 1 - 11 was posted in July 2018) and featured books from between the 1850s to 1881.


These posts (parts 12 - 23) features books published between 1881 and 1904.

Until the mid-18th century, children's books mainly consisted of moralistic or enlightening stories propagating the religious and ethical view that hard work and diligence determines a person's life. Little consideration was given to children's reading pleasure.

Amid this trend, John Newbery (1713-1767), a London-based bookseller, took up full-fledged publication of books that were both "entertaining and useful" for children. A Little Pretty Pocket-book, published by Newbery in 1744, is said to be the first book that provided children with not only moral lessons but also entertainment. Newbery went on to publish numerous books for middle-class children in urban areas, whose number continued to increase. Newbery became well known in the United States as well; the most prestigious American award for children's literature is named after him - the John Newbery Medal, inaugurated in 1922.

This is part 16 of an 23 - part series on children's books 1850s - 1881:


1885 Dame Crump:

McLoughlin Bros., Inc. was a New York publishing firm that pioneered the systematic use of colour printing technologies in children's books, particularly between 1858 and 1920. The firm's publications served to popularise illustrators including Thomas Nast, William Momberger, Justin H. Howard, Palmer Cox, and Ida Waugh. The artistic and commercial roots of the McLoughlin firm were first developed by John McLoughlin, Jr. (1827-1905), who, as a teenager learned wood engraving and printing while working for Elton & Co. - a New York firm formed by his father John McLoughlin, Sr. and engraver/printer Robert H. Elton

1885 The Swallow and the Skylark:

Thomas Nelson is a publishing firm that began in West Bow, Edinburgh,  Scotland in 1798 as the namesake of its founder. It is a subsidiary of Harper Collins, the publishing unit of News Corp. In Canada, the Nelson imprint is used for educational publishing. In the United Kingdom, it was a mainstream publisher until the late 20th century, and later became part of the educational imprint Nelson Thornes. 

Thomas Nelson, Sr. founded the shop that bears his name in Edinburgh in 1798, originally as a second-hand bookshop. The firm became a publisher of new books and, as the 19th century progressed, it produced an increasingly wide range of non-religious materials; by 1881, religion accounted for less than 6% of the firm's output. In 1835 the shop became a company, first as Thomas Nelson & Son when William joined, and in 1839 became Thomas Nelson & Sons when Thomas Jr. entered the business. 

William Nelson died in 1887, and Thomas Jr. died in 1892. They were succeeded by George Brown, Thomas’s nephew, who directed the company until Thomas III and Ian, Thomas Jr.'s sons, joined him and John Buchan as partners. Buchan, employed by the firm until 1929, dedicated his novel The Thirty Nine Steps to Thomas III (Thomas Arthur Nelson) in 1914.

1885 Twilight Tales:

1886 Kaspar Kroak's Kaleidoscope:

Anton Hochstein ( 1829 – 1911 ) natural history illustrator.

1886 Little Red Riding Hood:

1886 Robinson Crusoe 
illustrated by Carl Marr:

Carl von Marr ( 14 February 1858 – 10 July 1936 ) was an American-born German painter. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the the son of the engraver John Marr ( 1831–1921 ) and his wife Bertha Bodenstein Marr (1836–1911).

Marr was primarily a successful fine-art painter - his “Germany” in 1906 received a gold medal in Munich, and he was (as of 1911) in the Prussian Royal Academy at Königsberg. He received several gold medals for his most famous work “The Flagellants.”

Marr became a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich in 1893, and in 1895 a member of the Berlin Academy of Arts.

The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is the oldest Anglican mission organisation, and the leading publisher of Christian books in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray , (an Anglican priest), and a small group of friends, including Lord Guilford, Sir Humphrey Mackworth, Mr Justice Hooke, and Colonel Maynard Colchester. The emphasis was on setting up schools, and the SPCK was a major factor in setting up church schools across Britain. Today, the SPCK is most widely known for its publishing of Christian books.

The Society was founded to encourage Christian education and the production and distribution of Christian literature. SPCK has always sought to find ways to communicate the basic principles of the Christian faith to a wider audience, both in Britain and overseas. A related Scottish society was founded in 1709. It sent missions to Scotland's Highlands, and a handful to Indians in the American colonies.

SPCK's early publications were distributed through a network of supporters who received books and tracts to sell or give away in their own localities. Large quantities of Christian literature were provided for the Navy, and the Society actively encouraged the formation of parish libraries, to help both clergy and laity.