Jefferson Wallace collection–addition 1

Content Description

This addition to MSS 16179 – Jefferson Wallace collection contains one leather-bound 1913 illustrated manuscript by Jefferson Wallace for his daughter, Anne Clopton Wallace, entitled “The Book of Myths.” Jefferson Wallace’s bookplate, placemarked Richmond, Virginia, appears at the volume’s front endpage. The hand-illustrated and colored frontispiece of the book features the subtitle “Some of the Sweet Myths of Nature” and features the credit line “Arranged for Mistress Anne Clopton Wallace by Her Daddy.” Underneath these captions is “Philadelphia, MCMXIII,” where the manuscript was completed for Anne in 1913. Opposite the frontispiece is a photograph of Jefferson alongside Anne, captioned “The man and the girl. Scranton, Pa., January 1, 1914.” There is a table of contents that covers up to page 115, but there are another 23 additional pages following that for a total of 143 pages, including the title and content pages. The book’s content is separated into eight sections: “Greek Mythology,” “Folk-Lore,” “Bible Stories,” “Indian Stories,” “Persian Fables,” “Japanese Stores,” “Norse Mythology,” and “Hindu Mythology.” Wallace’s hand-drawn coat of arms, seen on his bookplate, appears again following the table of contents. There is a total of 35 stories across these sections. Each story ranges in length and is typewritten at the center of each page inside a rectangle. Surrounding each text block are hand-illustrated and colored scenes associated with each story. There are more robust scenes depicted from each story pasted on brown cardstock and captioned throughout, with page numbers provided in reference to each occurrence's location in the volume. Many of these illustrations depict vibrant wildlife and nature scenes. The front cover of the book is gilt with “The Book of Myths” and “Anne Clopton Wallace, Her Book.”

Acquisition Type

Purchase

Provenance

Purchased from Charles Agvent, 17 February 2026.

Language of Description

English

Script of Description

Latin

Restrictions Apply

No