{"product_id":"1871-crackers-for-christmas-by-eh-knatchbull-hugessen-scarce-illustrated-antique-book","title":"1871 Crackers For Christmas by EH Knatchbull-Hugessen - Scarce Illustrated Antique Book","description":"\u003cp\u003eScarce. Here is a very attractive antique collection of tales concerning fairy lore, witches and ogres. Crackers For Christmas by EH Knatchbull-Hugessen (Lord Brabourne) was published in 1871 by Macmillan and Co., London. This copy is a second edition, published just a year after Macmillan published the first. With eight super black and white illustrations (see photos). Condition details below.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContents: The Ogre's Cave; The History of a Rabbit; The Robber-Band; The Battle of the Stoats and Rats; The Mouse Traveller; The Witch of Brooke Hollow; The Man With A Beard. - Whilst the book is entitled Crackers For Christmas, this was a Victorian marketing strategy to sell the book at the end of the year. None of these stories actually feature Christmas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKnatchbull-Hugessen wrote many well-known short stories of fantasy and faery. The collections were popular and commercial successes in the Christmas book market, and his publishers illustrated them with the leading illustrators of their time such as Gustav Doré and Richard Doyle. Far from being the blandly moralistic fare of the later Victorian period, The Times newspaper noted that his stories... \"are of a very high order; light and brilliant narrative flow from his pen, and is fed by an invention as graceful as it is inexhaustible.\" He was widely likened by the reviewers to masters of the fairy-tale such as Grimm and Andersen. In a letter of 1971, J. R. R. Tolkien recalled that, as a small child, his bedtime reading was the fairy stories of Knatchbull-Hugessen. He recalled especially being read one story of an ogre who catches his dinner by disguising himself as a tree.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe contents of this volume are in good condition. Pages are tightly bound with just the occasional mark. Tanning to the closed top edge, and a couple of nicked edges, including just a tiny nick to the frontispiece. All eight black and white illustrations are present as called for, and all in good order. Has a faint pencilled inscription to the verso of the frontispiece, but no other writing or markings of previous ownership.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOrange cloth backed boards have gilt decoration and black titles to the front, and ornate gilt decoration to the spine. Has some faint dark marks to the cloth. With rubbing, chipping and a little loss to the cloth at the spine head. A little rubbing and rounding to cloth on the bottom of the spine. The gilt remains bright, and this is a charming volume.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYour festive antique collection of Crackers for Christmas will be wrapped with care in tissue and ribbon* and sent well packaged. I am always happy to add a gift card with a message to the parcel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eH 19 cm x W 14 cm, pp 309, publisher's catalogue pp 43, 0.5 kg.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e* If you would prefer your book not to be decoratively wrapped but sent simply in the full protective packaging please add a note to the order.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI post new stock, updates and news to Instagram @bumperboxofdelights\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bumper Box of Delights Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67604803191021,"sku":null,"price":203.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0351\/1068\/2669\/files\/20260928-140112.jpg?v=1790759872","url":"https:\/\/bumperboxofdelights.com\/en-de\/products\/1871-crackers-for-christmas-by-eh-knatchbull-hugessen-scarce-illustrated-antique-book","provider":"Bumper Box of Delights Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}