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Rarity: Extensive searching of major rare book databases, sale records, and library catalogs has yielded no other copies of this edition for sale or sold. No digitized version of this 1850 first edition has been located. This appears to be an exceptionally scarce title.
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Title: The Summer Holidays: A Story for Children
Author: Amerel (Pseudonym — identity unidentified)
Publisher: D. Appleton and Co., New York / George S. Appleton, Philadelphia
Year: 1850 (Copyright 1850; Gift inscribed January 1852)
Format: Early Victorian Decorative Cloth Hardcover
Dimensions: 6” x 5”
Condition & Features:
First Edition: Confirmed by 1850 copyright page and matching title page date, entered per Act of Congress in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Binding: Original embossed cloth with ornate gilt and floral detailing in blue and gold. Shows expected age-related wear with softening at the spine and some fading, but remains structurally sound.
Interior: Features the charming “Daddy Hall’s Donkey” woodcut frontispiece engraving. Pages show characteristic foxing and tide mark water staining consistent with 175+ years of age; text remains fully legible throughout.
Provenance: Exceptional historical interest. Contains multiple handwritten inscriptions documenting ownership across generations of the Douglass family of Franklin, Kentucky:
∙ Gift inscription: “James C. Douglass, From his Grand-pa, James C. Douglass, January 1852” — grandfather and grandson shared the same name
∙ Ownership signature: “J.C. Douglass, Franklin, Ky”
∙ Later inscription: “Dr. J.C. Douglass” — suggesting the recipient subsequently became a physician
