SAMANTHA AT THE WORLD'S FAIR

London: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1893. First Edition. . Hardcover. Good Plus. Baron C. De Grimm. Marietta Holley, almost unknown today, was a popular and successful satirist and humorist at the end of the 19th century, as well-known as her friends, Mark Twain, Susan B. Anthony, and Clara Barton. "Samantha At The World's Fair" is one of a series of ten novels that describe the travels and married life of Samantha and Josiah Allen, a rural, upstate NY husband and wife who visit the tourist hot spots of the 1890s, such as the St. Louis Exposition and Europe. The format provided Holley with the means to comment critically on issues such as race, women's rights and prohibition. "Samantha" delivered her criticism of American society and culture in a naive and grammatically uneducated, humorous style that was popular in the 1890s and might be described as an "the emperor has no clothes," style which seemed to fall out of fashion with 20th century readers. First edition, early printing. 694 pages with a single page of ads; 6 3/8 x 8 7/8 inches in light blue cloth-covered boards. Pictorial illustrations on front cover and spine in silver and black with gold lettering. Boards' corners are bumped and worn, as are edges. Illustrations and lettering on front cover and spine are faded and somewhat soiled. Two previous owners' names on inside front cover and fep, which show some minimal foxing. Text edges moderately soiled but text itself is complete, clean and unmarked. Hinges uncracked, binding tight. No longer a pretty bestseller but certainly a very decent, sturdy reading/study copy of a book becoming increasingly scarce in the first edition.