The next book up is “Lame Bessie; or, Simple Faith,” a children’s book in the “Fern Glen Series.” It was written by H.H.F., whose full name I have not been able to find. This copy says it was published by D. Lothrop & Co. out of Boston in 1875, but I found an 1874 edition of “Publisher’s Weekly” that lists the book available for sale for $1.
The cover of this copy is worn, but otherwise fully intact on the outside. It needs some mending on the inside, to reattach the cover, but the binding is still holding well. It’s dirty and moldy in some places, so it may be first book to be subject to some cleaning experimentation.
I haven’t been able to find another copy of this book online anywhere, but I did find some other entries in the series, one called “Overcoming” by Elizabeth K. Churchill, and one called “Fern Glen; or, Lilian’s Prayer” by M.H. Holt. That latter book may not be related, as it was published by a different publishing house, but the names seem to close to discount.
The Kipling Project 