Ten Thousand Wonderful Things – Routledge c.1870 Illustrated Victorian Book
 
Edited by Edmond Fillingham King
 
Publisher & Date
 
George Routledge and Sons, The Broadway, Ludgate Hill, London; also published in New York at 416 Broome Street.
Printed by Wyman and Sons, Great Queen Street, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London.
Undated, but the publisher’s imprint style and address layout reliably date this edition to between 1866 and 1878. This aligns with Routledge’s Standard Library output and their known address history.
 
Edition Information
 
Standard Library Series edition. Mid-Victorian printing (c. 1866–1878). Richly illustrated throughout.
 
Physical Description
 
Bound in rust-brown cloth, with a blind-stamped central emblem to the front board, black lettering, and gilt titles to the spine. Black publisher’s catalogue printed on the front endpapers. Hundreds of in-text illustrations.
 
Key Features
 
Mid-Victorian Routledge Standard Library issue
Hundreds of authentic illustrations
Charming compendium of curiosities, marvels, and extraordinary facts
Attractive blind-stamped cloth binding
Five-page Routledge catalogue at rear
Provenance inscription dated as a birthday gift
A substantial volume of xvi + 684 + 5 pp.
 
Historical / Bibliographic Context
 
Ten Thousand Wonderful Things was a highly popular Victorian miscellany, celebrated for gathering together notable curiosities, scientific wonders, extraordinary facts, eccentric anecdotes, and cultural marvels from across the world. Routledge’s Standard Library series sought to make educational and entertaining works accessible to the growing middle-class readership of the era.
 
This edition belongs firmly to the mid-Victorian period, when Routledge’s illustrated compilations and reference miscellanies were widely purchased for parlour reading and general improvement.
 
Exterior Condition
 
Bound in rust-brown cloth, likely with partial repair/restoration. Evidence suggests:
Original front-board cloth retained
Rear-board cloth and spine backing appear to have been replaced, with the original spine cloth laid down over the newer cloth
Light surface wear, marking, and mild rubbing
Slight bumping to the top front corner
Overall, externally complete and presentable with sympathetic historical repair.
 
Interior Condition
 
White tape reinforcement to inner margin of the front pastedown / front free endpaper
Pages evenly tanned, with a few pages roughly cut from original binding process
Light staining to top and bottom edges
Pages generally neat with only occasional light marks or tiny creases
Pen inscription facing title page:
“A birthday present for Mr Brulton from H.U.”
A few small edge rips, none affecting the text block
Title page lightly loose at inner margin but still attached
Slight gutter crack at final page, likely connected to the earlier repair; rear pastedown and free endpaper appear later replacements
Text block remains secure and fully legible throughout
 
Dimensions & Weight
 
Approx. 13.5 × 18.5 × 4.2 cm
Approx. 595g
Completeness Notes
All xvi preliminary pages, 684 pp. of main text, 5-page Routledge publisher’s 
Illustrated throughout (hundreds of in-text illustrations)
 
Collector’s Summary
 
A fascinating mid-Victorian edition of Ten Thousand Wonderful Things, rich with illustrations and characteristically ambitious in its cataloguing of curiosities from world history, science, and culture. This Routledge Standard Library printing retains much of its original charm while showing signs of careful historical repair. Complete, sound, and full of period personality, it remains an appealing and very readable example of 19th-century popular reference literature, ideal for collectors of Routledge, Victorian miscellanies, or illustrated antiquarian books.