1908 Kingsley The Heroes or Greek Fairy Tales for My Children Full Leather

A handsome 1908 Macmillan edition of Charles Kingsley’s The Heroes; or, Greek Fairy Tales for My Children, bound in full red leather with gilt school crest, gilt spine tooling, marbled endpapers, and marbled edges. This copy was awarded as a Felsted School prize, with the school’s motto “Garde Ta Foy” stamped in gilt on the boards and a presentation label dated 1912, giving it real character beyond a standard trade copy. Felsted School was founded in 1564, and its motto translates as “Keep Your Faith.”

Kingsley wrote The Heroes as an engaging introduction to Greek mythology for younger readers, retelling the stories of Perseus, Jason, and Theseus in a lively Victorian style. He remains one of the best-known nineteenth-century English writers for young readers, also remembered for The Water-Babies, and served as Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge as well as chaplain to Queen Victoria. This 1908 Macmillan printing is a later reprint, not a first edition, and your photos show the illustrated text and Macmillan imprint clearly. 

[d]Author | Charles Kingsley [d]Title | The Heroes; or, Greek Fairy Tales for My Children [d]Publisher | Macmillan and Co., Limited [d]Place | London [d]Date | 1908 [d]Edition | Later Macmillan reprint [d]Binding | Full red leather [d]Decoration | Gilt school crest and motto on boards, gilt spine lettering and tooling [d]Endpapers | Marbled [d]Edges | Marbled [d]Provenance | Felsted School prize binding, presentation label dated 1912 [d]Illustrations | Text illustrations by the author [d]Dimensions | 7.25 in H x 5 in W x 1.5 in D [d]Origin | England

[condition] The full leather binding remains sound and attractive overall. Surface wear is visible across the boards and spine, with light scuffing and rubbing consistent with shelf age and handling over more than a century. The leather has not cracked or split and the binding holds firmly. The gilt crest, motto, and spine tooling retain good legibility. The Felsted School prize label is present to the front and intact. Marbled endpapers are clean. One blank leaf shows a small tear near the upper edge, minor in extent. Text pages are generally clean throughout with normal age toning. A well-kept decorative copy with honest wear and strong presence on the shelf.