The Reign of the Princess Naska by Amelia Hutchison Striling 1st ed.

Blackie & Son 
1899 
Hardcover 
1st Edition 
208 Pages + extensive advertisements for other Blackie titles 
14.5 x 19.5cm 

Condition: Good 

Delightful late-Victorian juvenile romance set in a quasi-imaginary Eastern European court. Follows the brief and poignant reign of the child princess Naska, its sensitive narrative blends fairy-tale atmosphere with moral and emotional depth.

Issued as an illustrated gift book by Blackie & Son, this first edition is notable for its elegant Art Nouveau binding - ultramarine cloth boards decorated in green, gilt, and white, designed by Talwin Morris. The fine decorative cloth and Paul Hardy's evocative line illustrations place the volume squarely within the golden age of illustrated children's literature at the turn of the century. 

This copy was awarded by Shepperton Road School to Martha Kay for good work in 1906.