[Goldsmith, Oliver]

Estimate

1,000 - 1,500 GBP

bidding is closed

Description

The History of Little Goody Twoshoes; otherwise called Mrs. Margery Twoshoes. Worcester, Massachussets: Isiah Thomas, 1787
Paper

16mo (121 x 74mm.), first Worcester edition, frontispiece and numerous illustrations, 2pp. publisher's adverts at end, blue crushed levant morocco gilt by Riviere, top edge gilt, gilt dentelles, some uncut, some light browning

Literature

Doris Louise Benz, book plate; her sale, Christie's New York, 16 November 1984, lot 181

Catalogue Note

EARLIEST AVAILABLE AMERICAN EDITION. First published by John Newbery in London in 1765, the Isiah Thomas Worcester edition was long thought to be the first American edition. However, earlier editions appeared in New York, Boston and Philadelphia but - like the English first edition - these have largely disappeared, and survive now in only a few copies, most of which are incomplete.

Newbery, the publisher of the English edition, was one of the first publishers to produce books expressly intended to entertain children. Despite the title's success, the author of the story is still uncertain. Some suggest the publisher himself, others Oliver Goldsmith, who had a long association with Newbery.