The Story of Little Black Sambo

Bannerman, Helen

Published by Grant Richards, 1899

About this Item

First Edition of "The Story of Little Black Sambo" BANNERMAN, Helen. The Story of Little Black Sambo. London: Grant Richards, 1899. First edition. Sixteenmo (4 7/8 x 3 inches; 124 x 75 mm). viii, 57, [1, blank], [1, printer s imprint], [1, blank] pp. Twenty-seven full-page illustrations by the author, engraved on wood and color-printed by Edmund Evans. No. 4 of The Dumpy Books for Children. Original pale green cloth lettered and stamped in dark green with ruled borders and vertical stripes. Free endpapers with some minor toning, as usual. The slightest of wear to covers and spine. Otherwise, a very good or better copy of this rare item, clean with no previous owner s notations. Usually found in much worse condition. Housed in a custom green cloth clamshell case with black morocco label, gilt-stamped on spine. Helen Bannerman (1862-1946) wrote this story during a long railway journey to India, after having left two small daughters to be educated in her native Scotland. The author never intended the book for publication, but through the encouragement of her children and friends the manuscript was shown to E.V. Lucas who agreed to publish it as the fourth title in his series of The Dumpy Books for Children " (Schiller, p. 381). When first published in October 1899, The Story of Little Black Sambo was a "revolutionary-style picture book. Compared with its contemporary school of illustrators Crane, Greenaway, and Caldecott the pictures are simple yet bold. The format of the book encouraged its handling by young owners, and the pages alternated between text and illustrations in a manner very appealing and appropriate to its compact size. It even seems probable that Beatrix Potter s animal books, which began in 1901 with the privately printed Peter Rabbit, were at least influenced by the overall design of this book and, subsequently, so was the general success of the entire Dumpy series" (Schiller, pp. 381-382). Very few copies of the original printing have survived, and of the copies known, most have been badly worn because the small book was unable to withstand the constant handling of children. "Should a census eventually be attempted, there would probably be fewer copies located than of the notoriously rare and suppressed 1865 Alice" (Schiller, p. 386). See Schiller, "The Story of Little Black Sambo," in The Book Collector 23, No. 3 (Autumn 1974), pp. 381-386. Seller Inventory # ABE-1535730101967

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Story of Little Black Sambo

Publisher: Grant Richards

Publication Date: 1899

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Near Fine

Edition: 1st Edition