A.K. Smiley Public Library silent auction features 2 authoresses Black Beauty by Anna Sewell is one of the books in the Friends of the A.K. Smiley Public Librarys silent auction of old and rare books. POSTED: 01/19/15, 9:24 PM The silent auction of old and rare books that runs through Jan. 27 at the A.K. Smiley Public Library features two female authors — Anna Sewell, creator of “Black Beauty,” and Alexandra David–Neel, author and subject of “My Journey to Lhasa.” The books’ descriptions and bid sheets are in the silent auction area on the main level of the library, at 125 W. Vine St., Redlands. The books may be viewed downstairs in the Friends of the Library bookstore. The auction closes at 1 p.m. Jan. 27. Anna Sewell (1820-1878) wrote “Black Beauty” in the closing years of her life but lived long enough to see it published and to know of its success. She wrote only this one book and wrote it between 1871 and 1877. The volume offered for auction was published in 1915 by J.M. Dent of London. Although the book was an immediate success in England and the United States, and considered one of the greatest of all children’s classics, Sewell originally wrote it for those who worked with horses. She said her “special aim” was to induce kindness, sympathy and an understanding treatment of horses. The story is narrated in the first person as an autobiographical memoir by the titular horse named Black Beauty. The tale begins with Black Beauty’s early days as a colt on an English farm, then proceeds to his difficult life pulling cabs in London and his final days of happy retirement in the countryside. As part of his journey, Beauty meets many hardships and cruelties, along with kindness and affection. Lucy Kemp-Welch (1869–1958), the illustrator, was a British painter and teacher who specialized in horses. Her art is on exhibit in the Tate Gallery of London, the Royal Albert Museum and other prominent galleries. She also painted scenes of the Boer War and World War I, and although those have also been acclaimed, it is for her illustrations of “Black Beauty” that she is mostly heralded. The condition of the book is very good. This volume is bound in cream-colored cloth with gilded line drawings of horses, clouds and birds on the top board. The binding is tight and the pages are clear, clean, and bright. The book contains 24 full-color-plate illustrations plus numerous ink drawings. The previous owner’s name is penned neatly on an endpaper. The dealer price for volumes in similar condition is $84. The minimum bid is $40. The other book in the auction, “My Journey to Lhasa,” was published in 1927 and is a stated first edition. The author, Alexandra David-Neel, was a woman ahead of her time. In 1923, at the age of 55, Alexandra David-Neel disguised herself with the robes of a Buddhist monk. Together with a younger male companion (an actual monk) she walked across Tibet during a four-month pilgrimage to the holy city of Lhasa No European woman had every before entered this holy city, but Alexandra did so and also met the Panchur Lama. She was fluent in the language and a longtime student of Buddhism. During her travels, she slept on the ground and rocks, encountered blizzards and dealt with dangerous animals and fierce bandits. This is an inspiring and thrilling true adventure tale by a truly exceptional woman who, though born in 1868, eschewed the social life of her era to indulge in her insatiable intellectual curiosity about the peoples and religions of the East. Her life story is remarkable even by the standards of the 21st century. The book is very well written, easy to read and awe-inspiring. It should be an interesting read for anyone interested in women’s triumphs. The condition of this volume is near fine. It has dark green boards and the spine has burnt-orange-colored paper printed with the title pasted on the spine. The endpapers show a green-ink print map of Tibet. The binding is tight and all pages are clear, clean and bright, though slightly yellowed with age. This is a very nice copy of a hard-to-find book. The dealer price is $245 (only one copy is currently offered), and the minimum bid is $50. All proceeds from this auction, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, go to help support the A.K. Smiley Public Library. Source: Friends of the A.K. Smiley Public Library redlandsdailyfacts/social-affairs/20150119/ak-smiley-public-library-silent-auction-features-2-authoresses
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 20:57:52 +0000
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