Woodville Stories: In School and Out by William Taylor Adams

Description:

Woodville Stories: In School and Out is a coming of age tale for young readers. It is the second volume of a six-part series. The protagonist, Richard Grant, is a boy with many moral lessons to learn. There are two black and white illustrations: the title page depicts a large boarding school, while the facing page shows boys standing at attention and marching in military drills. The green cover features floral patterns and a portrait in profile of the author, William Taylor Adams. The inside back cover pages contain ads for a dozen other Oliver Optic's adventure books. An inscription on the front inside cover page states: “This book belongs to Proctor L. Dougherty, Jr.” This 1863 adventure book is 286 pages in length.

Prolific author William Taylor Adams (1822-1897) was a Massachusetts teacher and principal who used the pen name of "Oliver Optic." His stories were widely read from the 1850s through the turn of the 20th Century. His Oliver Optic’s Magazine for Boys and Girls (1867–1875) enjoyed great popularity. His books are written in series and take young heroes through exotic and educational adventures. Adams’ stories advance a strong moral perspective. Although Adams’ books were popular with girls as well as boys, girls appeared infrequently as characters in his writing.

Lee & Shepard was a publishing and bookselling firm in Boston, Massachusetts in the 19th Century, established in 1862 by William Lee (1826–1906) and Charles Augustus Billings Shepard (1829–1889). In 1905, Lee & Shepard merged with the Lothrop Company to form Lothrop, Lee & Shepard. This house was eventually acquired by William Morrow and Company, which was subsequently acquired by HarperCollins in 1999. Lothrop shut down its children's division soon after the acquisition. Lothrop is now an Imprint of HarperCollins.

Date Made: 1863

Place Made: United States: Massachusetts, Boston

See more items in: Home and Community Life: Education

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Gift of Dr. Richard Lodish American School Collection

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 2017.3049.86Nonaccession Number: 2017.3049Catalog Number: 2017.3049.86

Object Name: book

Physical Description: paper (overall material)ink (overall material)Measurements: overall: 7 in x 5 in x 1 in; 17.78 cm x 12.7 cm x 2.54 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b4-ae89-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1965721

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