True Stories with Pretty Pictures.Truman’s Entertaining and Instructive Toy Books.
Cincinnati: William T. Truman, 1844. First edition. Title-page with wood engraved ornamental border with 9 vignettes of playing children. 6 full-page engravings of Biblical scenes throughout, including depictions of the crucified Christ and Saul’s blinding in Acts 9. Some foxing throughout and some wear and soiling to wrappers. A very good copy of a fragile, scarce item. Original publisher’s printed brown paper wrappers with ornamental border matching title-page. Later blue cloth backstrip. Twelvemo. 24 pp. Item #17352
We could find no information about the writer of the text in this item, nor about the engraver of the images. William T. Truman (d. 1845) was a publisher who worked first as the partner to Winthrop B. Smith and then, after the dissolution of the firm Truman and Smith of Cincinnati in 1843, published children’s books under his own name for two years. Though Truman died in 1845, his wife Elizabeth, who worked as a bookseller, continued to use his name on her children’s publications until 1858.
See the Morgan Library of Ohio website for more information on the history of books published under the name of William T. Truman. OCLC lists 7 copies: five in the Northeast, one in Ohio, and one in Arizona.
Price: $250.00