Born this day in 1834, Frank R. Stockton.

Frank Richard Stockton (April 5, 1834 – April 20, 1902) was an American writer and humorist, best known today for a series of innovative children’s fairy tales that were widely popular during the last decades of the 19th century.

That Infallible Source

That is my table of crappy old books about crappy old books. A great many are on the subject of children’s books and authors. Let us begin.

From The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature (1995) we learn that his stories and fantasies for children were collected and published in three volumes. The most famous of which, based on other resources, was his (1887) Bee-Man of Orn and other fanciful tales. Interestingly– or sadly, I haven’t read any of the actual tales yet– he had a quite successful comic novel for an adult audience, published in 1889, and abandoned the kids.

His name is included in the Index to Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends Second Edition (1926). Five collections are listed. I am not sure just what would possess someone creating an index to include the current price of a book, but I am not living in 1926. The five volumes listed range from $.60 to $3.50.

As an aside, let’s consider what an enormous effort it must have been to create the Index, especially the first, 1915, edition. It is a bibliography of titles, and secondarily of authors. It’s over 600 pages! The Preface itself– detailing the particulars of the entry scheme– are fantastic!

Finally, at least in terms of my own library, Stockton’s “The Lady or the Tiger” is included in The Family Book of Best Loved Short Stories (1954), so he survived for a time.

GDR 4/5/20

• Ponona’s Novel [looks interesting]
• A Piece of Red Calico

Stay well and keep reading!