The Adventures of Billy Bump in Boston, California, etc. Being The Life of a Boy in America.

London: Darton and Co. , Holborn Hill,. Good with no dust jacket. 1855. Revised and Corrected Edition. Hardcover. In the original attractive pictorial and blind stamped blue morocco-grain cloth, with gilt titling and decoration to the spine, and a gilt illustration / part title to the front cover. The design is by John Leighton. Signed "JL" in gold as a monogram at the base of the vignette in the base foliage. The head/tail and corners of the book are 'soft' and rubbed, with a little light fraying, as are the edges, and some of the gilt is wearing away on the centre of the illustration. Small slits/tears to the top and bottom edges of both sides of the spine, but overall a very sound and attractive copy. Despite the small splits in the outer cloth as noted, ALL Hinges are tight - outer and inner. ALL fore-edges gilt. I am unable to find a date for this book - in fact I can't find a copy anywhere with THIS title - I have found Peter Parley's ''The Adventures of Billy Bump on the Pacific Coast" - which MAY be the original title of this book - but all copies I can find are later than this one? A former owner has written a gift note on the front free endpaper in old faded ink, and is date 1856 - so I made a guess at the date of a year earlier? There is also a (slightly later) name written on the front pastedown. Pale lemon endpapers. A b/w steel engraved frontispiece 'California and the Gold Regions' + (iv) + 209 pp + 1 blank + 35 pp = "Reviews and Literary Notices with the Opinions of the London and Provincial Press on the Rev. T. Wilson's Popular School Catechisms" + 1 page Darton book adverts. Some occasional spotting/thumbing/marks here and there in the text block, but overall pretty clean and tight. The book is written in the form of Letters mainly to, and from, his mother, by 'William' (Billy) Bump. Overall a charming period book, with a 'signed' binding. Scarce. See Images ; 16mo 6" - 7" tall .