Are you a collector of unique and/or vintage books and looking to add another great work to your collection? Then this 136-year-old printing just might be the one for you!
Listed today is an ORIGINAL 1881 second edition hardback printing of the satirical novel “Helen’s Babies” by John Habberton! This book was published 136 years ago (ONE HINDRED THIRTY SIC YEARS!) by A.L. Burt Company, Publishers in New York.
This book measures 7.5” long, 5” wide & 1.25” thick and features 257 pages. This book features about the amount of wear you might expect of a book that is this old. The cover is a bit work along with the spine, but the binding is very much intact while the pages are still bound pretty well even though you should still handle it with care. The pages also feature the amount of discoloration and foxing that you would expect from a printing that is 136 years old!
“Helen's Babies” is a humorous novel by American journalist and author John Habberton and was first published in 1876. Keeping with the satirical nature of the book, its early editions the author was noted anonymously as “by Their Latest Victim”.
Here’s a bit of a synopsis you can find at the website www.loyalbooks.com.
“Harry Burton, salesman of white-goods, bachelor of twenty-eight leads a charmed existence. A letter from his sister, Helen changes his life forever. She and her husband have been invited for a holiday but they can't find anyone to baby-sit their two toddlers, five-year-old Budge and three-year-old Toddie. Ever the gallant helpful, Harry steps in, foreseeing nothing but a relaxed vacation with lots of books to read and thinks baby-sitting's a breeze. But destiny has other plans. Harry has long adored a lovely lady from afar and hopes to convince her that he is marriage material by displaying his nurturing side. The only problem is, he hasn't reckoned with the two little imps he's saddled with!”
One of the most hilarious and entertaining books ever been written about adult-child encounters, “Helen's Babies” was an instant best-seller when it first came out in 1876. It was so popular that though Habberton initially meant it for adults, its appeal soon crossed all barriers. Writers like Rudyard Kipling and GK Chesterton lavished praise on it, George Orwell mentions it in one of his essays and readers across the world felt it ranked on par with classics like “Tom Sawyer” or ”The Wind in The Willows”. However, like many books of the time, it slowly faded into oblivion and few modern-day readers have even heard of it.
“Helen's Babies” was even adapted into a film of the same name in 1924, directed by William A. Seiter.
Add a great book to your collection with this great 1881 printing! Please let me know if you have any questions about this book and I will be happy to answer as best I can. Thanks for looking!