"Fools Despise Wisdom," A Story for the Young

London & Edinburgh: T. Nelson & Sons, No date [c. 1870]. [CHAPBOOK] [JUVENILE]. 24mo (5 5/16” x 3 ½”); 16pp; yellow wrapper, front engraved pictorial of a boy reading to two girls with a dog in the foreground, the rear wrapper a “List of the Series”; publisher’s string binding; ownership in pencil on verso front wrapper and ffep; engraved fp; decorative head and tailpiece, historiated first letter; light hand-soiling and wear of wrapper, lightly scattered foxing, a few page corners creased; very good plus. Not recorded. Item #2087

The engraved pictorial on the front wrapper is interesting as it features a young, finely dressed Black or perhaps brown-skinned boy from India reading a book while two girls sit next to him, a small dog at their feet, and an owl perched on the back of the fainting couch.

The author is uncredited but likely Charlotte M. Tucker (1821-1893), writing as A.L.O.E. (A Lady of England). Tucker was Great Britain’s leading evangelical children’s author in the late 19th century. The title is taken from the Biblical book of Proverbs in the Old Testament, chapter 1, verse 7b, “fools despise wisdom and instruction.” The story is a moralistic story about two cousins, one who acted prudently and one who was reckless.

Price: $200.00