The War 1914 (1914)

$250.00

"In the August of 1914, Every Child in Europe and America Knew That  a Great War Was Actually Beginning"

O'Neill, Elizabeth. The War 1914. A History and an Explanation for Boys and Girls. London: T.C. & E.C. Jack, 1914.

Octavo. Hardcover. 1st Edition.

First edition of this beautifully illustrated history of World War I published during the first year of the war, in the extremely rare original dust jacket. As this book was published during the first year of World War I--years before its conclusion--it offers a fascinating glimpse as to what the British public thought and felt when the outcome was still uncertain. O'Neill discusses the causes of the war, modern warfare, the various fronts, and, most importantly, trench warfare. With pictorial dust jacket and four beautiful color plates by Septimus Scott, A. Chevallier Tayler, W.B. Wollen, and A.S. Hartrick, as well as over a dozen black-and-white plates. This book was both reprinted and updated during the war (e.g. The War 1914-1915); this is the true first edition.  Book fine, with interior unusually nice with just a few areas of offset toning. Very rare dust jacket better than near-fine, with just a few tiny chips to extremities and single tape repair to verso. A strikingly beautiful copy.