I picked up this lovely old picture book in an op shop in New Zealand several years ago. We had just hopped off the ferry on the South Island and it was cold and pouring with rain. The book is in poor shape, tattered and torn, but the pages are all there and it is quite magical to look at! The publication date is c1880. The handwritten message inside says: “To Lucy from Uncle King June 28th 1892″

This is around the time my grandfather and his siblings were growing up on the South Island of New Zealand, so it felt quite an appropriate find at the time marking my first visit.

If you’d like to see the entire book it’s free online via the International Children’s Digital Library. The other titles by R. Andre look equally intriguing! Warning, click at your own risk because you might get stuck looking at all the delights this website has to offer!

The Internet is a wonderful thing.

(This is an edited version of the original article published at Butterflyrocket, November 2009)