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Author: Sidney, Margaret [pseud. of Harriet Mulford Stone Lothrop]
Title: Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
Place Published: Boston
Publisher:D. Lothrop and Company
Date Published: [1880]
Description:

410, [4] ad pp. Several illustrations throughout, full-page and in text. (8vo) original mustard cloth decorated in gilt, brown, and red. First Edition. 

Rare first state with caption at 231 reading 'said Polly' ('said Phronsie' in later states), no mention of a contest in ads at rear. First state of binding with ampersand in publisher's monogram on front cover in gilt. Sidney’s children's stories did not grow out of her actual childhood like Louisa May Alcott's or from the depths of her heart and soul as did Hawthorne's; they were products of her vivid imagination. She brought forth the popular adventures of "The Little Peppers", a family of five children prone to mischief but most responsive to kindness and good deeds. Eleven "Pepper" books were written at The Wayside, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s former home. Her first novel The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew was an instant success. The Pepper books were the inspiration for a brief series of feature films produced by Columbia Pictures in 1939-40. The four films were vehicles for Columbia's juvenile star Edith Fellows, who played Polly. Peter Parley to Penrod, page 54.

Light wear and soiling to cloth, owner's name on front endpaper, rear hinge starting; very good.