Description
The Origins and Nature of
American Gift Books
Until the end of the Eighteenth century, America imported most of its literature from England. By the time the first American gift books were published in the 1820s, pride in American literature was on the rise.
Contributions to Publishing History
Many book features we are familiar with today first appeared on or in gift books, including the earliest known dust wrapper and the first photograph in an American book.
The Content of Gift Books
Many of America’s premier Nineteenth-century writers made appearances in gift books, including Edgar Allan Poe, Henry David Thoreau and Washington Irving.
A Checklist and Bibliography
This checklist suggests some interesting collecting possibilities. The books about gift books will help collectors understand the fundamentals.
One Hundred Rapidly
Appreciating Literary Titles
In the September 1991 issue of Firsts, we listed more than 100 books that appreciated rapidly during the 1980s. Now that a decade has passed, we thought it might be interesting to update the list and see how these titles have fared in the market. Some have done very well, indeed.
Books into Film
The Secret Garden, a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett; films by Fred M. Wilcox and Agneiszka Holland