Edward J. Brown's 1878 Reader, with Drawings sayward somewhat kitschy Baroqueness

somewhat kitschy Baroqueness

The date 1834 is noted on the reverse

This lovely blocks set is not entirely complete

Toward the end the year of its making (I assume) is revealed in two drawings—one of an Abe Lincoln-looking character in tailcoat marking the 1876 centennial as “Stride of Liberty”

but it's a nice box

Edward J. Brown's 1878 Reader, with Drawings sayward somewhat kitschy BaroquenessI could spend way too many hours opening old schoolbooks in search of drawings and have to stop myself, but finding one's like this makes it hard! The book is "The Normal Fourth Reader" published in 1878, and my guess is that Edward J. Brown was its first owner as his name is all over it, included ink stamped in two places, so I'd think the drawings date to around then. And, found in Hampton, NH, where Brown lived, it seems that it never left home! 7