New York: Mahlon Day at the Juvenile Book-store, 1826. First edition. Disbound but complete in 23 pages including frontis. Measuring 145 x 90mm and illustrated throughout. Light foxing and occasional minor marginal chips with no loss to text. Central signatures loosely laid in. A delicate and rare piece, OCLC records only three copies at libraries with this being the only example in trade.

An early and scarce example of juvenile sensational literature, A Present from New York provides children with a mixture of strange facts and cautionay tales. Alongside information on differentiating a Sloop from a Steamboat or educating them about some of Benjamin Franklin's experiments, the book intermixes sensational narratives that resemble some of the period's more pulpy novels and broadsides. The illustrated tales are addressed to both boys and girls, with a fairly equal representation of gender among their characters. Notably, the narratives seem to warn boys against cruelty and encourage compassion, while urging girls to consider the dangers that surround them.

On the one side, tales like Cruel Boy depict a boy who beats a dog and is then is beaten by his school master as punishment, because "if we cause others pain...we deserve to be punished for our cruel deeds." And The Fall depicts a little boy who falls out of the tree after trying to rob a bird's nest, urging the lesson not to take needless risk but also to feel empathy for a family of birds split apart for no reason. Meanwhile, A Little Girl on Fire! for example, offers the "distressing tale" that warns against "playing with fire on any account" lest the reader experience what this child does both in the illustration and the text: "the fire burns her naked arms and face, and she dies in great distress!" Similarly, The Affrighted Girl flees from "a swarm of bees around my head!" as she fears being stung or hurt.

Fascinating and macabre predecessors to later children's literature including the works of Gorey and Dahl. (Item #5398)