TOINETTE'S PHILIP

New York: The Century Co. Very Good. 1908. Pictorial Cloth. x, (2), 236 pages; Contents clean and secure in original green cloth pictorial binding showing a moon rising over a triangular garland of vine leaves. Image and lettering faded at spine The story is set in New Orleans and features orphaned Philip and Toinette, the Creole woman raising him. Toinette encourages Philip's development and ensures that above all else he is kind of heart. Philip is content with his simple life until a stranger asks about his parents. When Philip questions Toinette, it is clear that there are secrets she is not ready to reveal. As Philip finds his own place in the world, he is faced with numerous challenges but always remains pure of heart and gentle in nature. Jamison's writing transports the reader to the sounds and sights in the streets of 19th century New Orleans. The dialogue in the text is peppered with African American / Creole dialect. Wonderful illustrations by Reginald Birch, famous for his illustrations for Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1886 novel Little Lord Fauntleroy. Birch was a very popular late 19th and early 20th century illustrator, known for his work which appeared regularly in St. Nicholas, the Century, Harper's, Life, and The Youth's Companion, etc. In the 1950s Disney produced a short animated film based on this story with artwork by Retta Scott. .