This is a combination canvassing outfit (also called a Grand Combination Outfit). It represents multiple titles together with examples of their bindings and sample texts. Sometimes these outfits had leather handles for convenient carrying. The format was used almost exclusively for children's books, although some general books "for the family" might also be included, as in this outfit. The order begins with books for babies and toddlers, and moves through titles directed at ever-older audiences. Their range might include entertaining stories and poems, religious works, and educational texts. These books were often pitched to mothers, who, of course, sought only the best for their families and were also thought to have primary responsibility for their intellectual improvement.
Fig. 1: Also contains subscription materials for: The Chimney Corner Story Book; Frederick Lonnkvist, The Child's Story of the Animal World; Charlotte Yonge, Happy Sundays with the Bible and the Children; A Journey Around the World Including Interesting Adventures in Many Land with Professor Glee and His Class of Young People in Their Travels; The International Book of Song;Charles Morris, The Popular Compendium of Useful Information
