Published by Mack, W. 4 Paternoster Square. W. Wileman 34 BouverieSt. E.C.1 or from the author, St. Luke's Vicarage Bedminster, Bristol.
Circa 1866. 7 of 10 miniature booklets, each 32 printed pages including the final page of publisher's adverts. 1/ A Brand Plucked Out of the Fire, A Narrative of Facts. 2/ Happy John, the Dying Policeman. 3/ My Father's Hand; or, Lessons from Children. A Railway Incident. 4/ "I've Got No Money!" An Incident at St. Luke's Soup Kitchen, Bedminster. 5/ "Mother's Hungry!" or, the Ragged School and its Teachings. 6/ "I Want My Brother!" or, a Little Girl's Cry. 7/ "I'm Going Home!" Being Recollections of my Last Service in Ireland. (lacking A Gospel Catechism; Talk With the Young; Gracious God and a Curious Gospel). The first Pamphlet is lacking the first and last leaves. My Father's Hand has the first and last leaf detached. Going Home has the last leaf torn and a large part detached. Fragile half-penny ephemera. 60 x 90mm. All in printed wrappers. Complete with original cream drawstring, cotton bag decorated with a pattern of red stars and printed on the front with the title of the collection and of the individual books, the publisher and the price, "Price Sixpence, Post Free". Some minor spotting.
A rare and unexpected survival published for Railway Travellers, District Visitors, Mothers' Meetings, School Prizes, Emigrant Farewells. The booklets' publisher's promotional offering and target audience point to the social background of Victorian poverty and despair. Railways allowed leisure travel, and contributed to the growth of seaside resorts. It also allowed people to live further from their places of work, as the phenomenon of commuting took hold. Mothers' meetings spread rapidly in the 1860s and were a crucial agency in family and social welfare. As with district visiting societies in an earlier day, they captured the imagination of middle-class. Child emigration was undertaken by religious and charitable organisations with Canada and Australia being the main destinations. The Children's Friend Society, established in 1830, sent out its first party of child migrants to Australia in 1832. In 1844 the Ragged School Movement began, and sent out 150 children to New South Wales in 1849. In 1850 Parliament legalised Poor Law Guardians to fund emigration of children to the colonies. The Report of the Clarendon Commission on schools in England in 1864 made proposals regarding the promotion of pupils' attainments by awarding their achievements with prizes, amongst many other detailed recommendations. This Bag of Books was tailored to provide comfort for several key growth markets, as the Victorian era went through its often challenging social evolution.
Not in Bondy, nor Gumuchian, nor Spielmann, nor Welsh. No OCLC number. WorldCat locates 0 copies worldwide. Unrecorded. Two of the titles were also published by Mack in editions that were over 12cm. #OABA1