1. Beaulieu, Mad. Mallès de / [Robinson Crusoe].

Le Robinson de douze ans – Histoire intéressante d’un jeune Mousse Français abondonné dans une ile déserte. Ornée de Gravures par Mme Mallès de Beaulieu, Auteur des Coules d’une Mère à sa Fille.

Paris, P.-C. Lehuby, no date (approx. 1818). Small – Octavo. Engraved frontispiece, Titlevignette, 288 pages with two further engravings (4 in total). Hardcover. Original, blue paper-covered boards, extensively decorated with gilt floral motifs and an inset illustration of the young Robinson and his dog on a beach. Very good condition. Interior remarkably clean. Fine example of a so-called Robinsonade, a fashionable adaptation of the original Robinson Crusoe story, in this case based on another “Robinsonade”, this is a somewhat modified and inspired version of Johann David Wyss’ famous publication “The Swiss Family Robinson”, which he published initially “to teach his sons about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the natural world and self-reliance” (Wikipedia). In her publication “History and the Construction of the Child in Early British Children’s Literature”, Jackie C. Home writes that “The Bibliothèque Nationale de France online catalogue lists 35 French language editions of Mallès de Beaulieu’s novel, published between 1818 and 1923, suggesting that the novel was one of the most popular titles fro children in nineteenth-century France.”

2. [De Foe, Daniel] Chadwick, William.

The Life and Time of Daniel De Foe with Remarks Digressive and Discursive.

New York, Burt Franklin, 1968. 14.5 x 22cm. Frontispiece, (8), 464 pages. Original hardcover with gilt lettering on spine. Excellent condition, as new other than some very mild spotting to top edges. [Burt Franklin: Research and Source Works Series 328, Essays in Literature and Criticism, 19].

3. [Selkirk, Alexander] / [A.B. Becher (Editor)].

The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle, for 1837. A Journal of Papers on Subjects connected with Maritime Affairs [with detailed accounts by Captain P. Masters of Liverpool in his “Notes on a Voyage from Cape Horn to Mazatlan” reporting on Juna Fernandez Island and its connection to Alexander Selkirk (Robinson Crusoe)].

London, Simpkin, Marshall and Co., 1837. Octavo. XII, 864, 12, [12] pages with numerous folded and full-page plates and maps. Original Hardcover / Publisher’s half-leather with original gilt ships as spine-ornament. Original spine-label missing. Otherwise in excellent condition with some minor signs of wear only. Some minor signs of foxing to the plates only (due to different paper being used for the maps and illustrations). The text absolutely clean.