Children's Book, Mischief and Play, W. B. Conkey Company, Antique 1899

Laughable stories for children, published in Chicago in 1899 — a rare survivor of the Victorian children's book trade.

• Publisher: W. B. Conkey Company, Chicago
• Copyright: 1899
• Format: Hardcover, nearly 2 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.5" x 10.25"
• Condition: Fair — cloth spine faded and very worn; heavy cover wear; pages very yellowed with age, slight odor (no mold or mildew); pencil writing on first page only, no other writing or torn pages. Please review photos closely before purchasing, as all sales are final.

W. B. Conkey Company was a prolific Chicago publisher of the late 19th century, known for its oversized, beautifully produced children's gift books. Mischief and Play is exactly that — a large-format treasury of children's stories with black-and-white engraved illustrations throughout and a gorgeous gilded, color-illustrated front board. These books were meant to delight and to last; that this one has survived over a century is a testament to both.

For the antiquarian book collector, the Victorian children's literature enthusiast, or anyone drawn to the gorgeous production values of Gilded Age publishing.

W. B. Conkey Company was founded in Chicago in the 1870s and grew into one of the city's major book manufacturers, known for producing both mass-market reprints and lavishly illustrated gift editions like this one — the kind of oversized, gilt-decorated volume meant to sit on a Victorian parlor table as much as be read aloud.

Browse our shop for more antique Victorian children's books and 19th-century ephemera to round out your collection.