Peeps Into The Far North S.E. Scholes c.1870s T. Woolmer Illustrated Cloth
 
Peeps Into The Far North By S. E. Scholes
Iceland, Lapland, Greenland – illustrated juvenile/travel compendium
 
Publisher & Date
 
Published by T. Woolmer, 2 Castle Street, City Road; and 66 Paternoster Row, London.
Printed by Hayman Brothers & Lilly, Hatton House, 113 Farringdon Road, London.
 
This edition is undated in the volume itself, but the imprint and publisher evidence place it in the 1870s. Institutional catalogues list S. E. Scholes’ Peeps into the Far North in editions published circa 1875–1876, and T. Woolmer issues of the title appear in publisher lists from the later 1870s–1880s. This copy carries a contemporary inked presentation label dated Christmas 1889, which gives a firm terminus ante quem (the book must pre-date or be contemporary to 1889). 
 
Edition information
 
Octavo juvenile/travel compendium; illustrated throughout (including illustrated title). 96 pp. This is a mid-late Victorian children’s / juvenile travel chapter book intended for general reading and missionary/educational circulation.
 
Physical description (binding & physical features)
 
Boards & spine: Blue decorative cloth. Front board with pictorial illustration set within a gilt-block background; black printed ornament and borders; gilt lettering to spine; blind-stamped emblem to rear board. No dust jacket (as issued).
Endpapers: Yellow pastedowns and endpapers.
Text block: 96 pages, illustrated throughout (engravings/vignettes), illustrated title-page present.
Measurements: approx. 15.7 × 12.6 × 1.2 cm.
Weight: approx. 160 g.
 
Key features
 
Victorian juvenile travel compendium covering Iceland, Lapland & Greenland.
Illustrated title and numerous in-text illustrations 
Undated T. Woolmer imprint – probable 1870s issue, terminus ante quem 1889 (inscription).
Attractive pictorial gilt-front cloth and blind-stamped rear board.
Presentation inscription label dated Christmas 1889 (pasted to front pastedown).
 
Historical / bibliographic context
 
S. E. Scholes’ Peeps Into the Far North belongs to the late-Victorian genre of short, illustrated travel and mission-style juvenile books, designed to inform and entertain young readers about distant lands and peoples. Multiple issuer variants circulated (Wesleyan Conference Office; Charles Kelly; T. Woolmer), indicating the title’s popularity and reprinting across trade and denominational presses in the 1870s–1880s. The presence of the illustrations and an engraved title positions it squarely within that educational/juvenile market. 
 
Condition Report
 
Exterior Condition
Blue decorative cloth boards and spine, pictorial front block with gilt background – cover intact and robust.
Small areas of rubbing at board edges and along the long edges of the spine.
Light wear/rubbing to front pictorial illustration; soft bumping and small rips to corners; small light marks.
Blind-stamped emblem to rear board present and clear.
Overall: Very good for age: bright cloth, pictorial block attractive, solid binding.
 
Interior Condition
Yellow pastedowns and endpapers; light staining and rubbing to front pastedown (where the presentation label is pasted). Patching/under-padding beneath pasted label suggests the book may have earlier marks that were concealed when the label was added.
Pages lightly tanned but neat and predominantly uncreased. Illustrations clear.
Occasional small/light marks that do not obscure text or engravings.
Lower corner of page 49 and verso trimmed/missing (very small) – does not affect printed text and may reflect the way the sheets were trimmed in binding.
Pen inscription on a pasted label at the front pastedown: “William Leighton with his sister’s love and good wishes, Christmas 1889.” (This provides a firm terminus ante quem.)
No loose gatherings; text block tight and secure. All 96 pages present.
Overall: Good internal condition for a Victorian juvenile; tidy and complete with only minor handling faults.
 
Completeness notes
 
All 96 pages present.
Illustrated title-page present.
No missing illustrations reported.
Minor trimmed corner at p.49 (non-textual).
 
Inscriptions / Provenance
 
Pasted presentation label on front pastedown: “William Leighton with his sister’s love and good wishes, Christmas 1889.” Patches of rubbing underneath the pasted label suggest prior use or an earlier label removed before this dedication was applied.
 
Collector’s summary
 
A charming and clean late-Victorian juvenile travel compendium on Arctic lands, attractively bound in pictorial blue cloth with an illustrated title and numerous engravings. The undated T. Woolmer imprint and the Christmas 1889 presentation label anchor the book to the 1870s–1880s period, making it a desirable, displayable example for collectors of Victorian juvenilia, Arctic travel writing for children, or decorative cloth bindings.