{"product_id":"little-women-by-louisa-may-alcott-floral-binding-from-the-garland-library-copy","title":"Tales of Our Village by Miss Mitford Floral Binding from The Garland Library","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis beautiful edition of Tales of Our Village by Miss Mitford was published by Hutchinson and Co for The Garland Library. The book itself is undated but after doing some research, it appears it was published circa 1890's. There is a presentation plate inside dated 1902. The book is bound in original publisher's red cloth over bevelled boards with beautiful floral decoration and gilt detail to the front board and spine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMary Mitford was an English author best known for Our Village which features a series of sketches of village life - her beautiful descriptions and memorable characters were based upon her own life and experiences living in a village. Life wasn't easy for Mary as her father was a gambler, and lost the original family fortune. Fate favoured the family for a while after this though as aged just 10 years old, Mary chose the winning ticket ‘2224’ (the sum made up her age) in the Irish lottery. The prize of £20,000 (around £2,000,000 in today's money) enabled her father to build a fashionable town house at 39 London Road, Reading and live in a style more suited to their background. Mary was an intelligent girl, learning to read before she was 3. She was a voracious reader, once mastering 55 volumes in only 31 days. The Mitford’s return to riches was short lived as Dr Mitford gambled most of it away in a few years. In 1820, the family moved to a labourer’s cottage in the nearby village of Three Mile Cross. Here they lived on the small remnants of her father’s fortune and the earnings of Mary’s developing literary career.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's in good condition but there is wear and crushing to the corners. The spine is faded whilst crushing to the spine ends has caused minor splitting in the cloth. There is light soiling to the boards. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInside, there is a presentation plate glued to the front pastedown. The pages are clean and bright with scattered foxing and other more occasional marks.  There are occasional chips and small tears to the page edges.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are four black and white plates including the frontispiece. Dimensions approximately 19cm x 13.3cm x 2.3cm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book will arrive hand wrapped in patterned wallpaper and ribbon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI use a range of eco friendly, 100% recyclable jiffy bags and boxes, and whenever possible I use brown paper tape. The green bubble wrap is biodegradable and the clear bubble wrap is 100% recyclable. I also reuse boxes when I feel it's appropriate (if the boxes are sturdy enough).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Vintage Bookworm UK","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57059881845109,"sku":null,"price":48.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/9271\/8525\/files\/90B9B23A-DB86-43E7-A38C-C9332D45D6FC.jpg?v=1775842230","url":"https:\/\/thevintagebookworm.co.uk\/products\/little-women-by-louisa-may-alcott-floral-binding-from-the-garland-library-copy","provider":"The Vintage Bookworm UK","version":"1.0","type":"link"}