Gift Inscription from a Teacher to a Student, for Improvement in Writing

Interesting Narratives for the Young.
London: Printed for Frederick Westley and A.H. Davis, 1826. (BRA0956)

A teacher inscribed this gift volume of brief moral tales to a student for work well done: “This little volume is presented . . . by Mrs. Combe to her little pupil Amelia Thine (as her reward) for her improvement in writing. Midsummer 1829.”

Interesting Narratives for the Young is the first collected edition of moral tales consisting of the original sheets, including title pages, of four separate illustrated chapbooks originally published by Frederick Westley between 1824 and 1825. The titles include: The Midnight Vision, or, Sketches of Character (1824); Pious Edward; a Real Character: for the Instruction and Amusement of Young Persons (1825); The True History of David Saunders, the Pious Shepherd of Salisbury Plain; to Which are Added, Some of His Letters, Never before Printed (1824); and The Gathered Flower; or, Amiable Joseph, a Real Character; Intended for the Pleasure and Profit of Young People (1825).