C. 1890’s Raphael Tuck “Our Darlings” Children’s ABC Booklet (Father Tuck’s Little Lesson Series)

Books : Children's : Raphael Tuck Our Darlings Abc Father Tuck's Little Lesson Series

 

You are looking at a rare & beautifully illustrated children’s booklet by Raphael Tuck & Sons. It is called “Our Darlings”, ABC, which is part of the Father Tuck’s “Little Lesson” series.

As you can see, the cover has a gorgeous color illustration of two children under an umbrella, with their dog & an oriental doll. In front of them is a young boy standing with an ABC book in his hand. To the right of the “Our Darlings” title reads: Untearable Linen Series. At the bottom right corner it reads: Father Tuck’s Little Lesson Series.

The front and back covers are done in heavy cardboard.

Another gorgeous color illustration is shown on the back cover, this time it’s of a young girl with a beautiful long haired white cat. She is sitting on a wooden stool below a peach tree & holding the letter “T” in her hand. In front of her are two large wooden blocks; one has the letter C & the other is an A. Since she’s just learning to spell, she’s looking a bit perplexed as to where the “T” she is holding goes.

This is signed at the bottom: Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd., London, Paris and New York. Publishers to the Queen. Designed at the Studios in England. Printed at the Fine Art Works in Saxony. To the left of this is a small picture of a painter’s palette on a stand, with the initials RTS. Below this is a small palette with the words: Artistic Series, Trademark. Below this is: No. 2086.

There are six pages, each with stunning color illustrations of young children, along with a few dogs, a cat, birds, fish & dolls. Two of the illustrations, which are back to back, are signed by the artist/illustrator “E. Welby”. One is on the V page & the other one is the V / W page. They are beautiful. Also, all the page edges are done in red.

The booklet measures 13” long & 9 ½” wide & approx. ¼” deep.

The overall condition is good to very good, especially when you consider it’s over 100 years old. The imperfections are as follows: the front cover has some paper rippling, some teensy areas of paper loss along edges, a bit on the umbrella & a couple minor creases. The linen binding has two small tears; it has also separated from the pages. There is some darkening on pages, mainly on the corners, but I would consider this minor & age related. The corners have a slight bend to them, but again, it’s very minor. The last page (X, Y, Z) has a bend in the upper right corner & has some darkening & extremely light paper rippling along the binding edge. The back cover has a bend in the upper left corner. There is also some paper rippling. I have tried to capture everything in my photos.

If you are a collector of books or Raphael Tuck items, then this is a must-have. Someone may want to frame some of the pages, along with the front and back cover. Whatever you decide to do, you will absolutely LOVE this rare Victorian era children’s book; it is truly outstanding in every way.

Item ID: 331