Köllner, Augustus “The Cruel Boys”

Augustus Köllner.  “The Cruel Boys.”  From Picture Lessons Illustrating Moral Truth, For the Use of Infant-Schools, Nurseries, Sunday-Schools, & Family Circles. 

Philadelphia: American Sunday School Union, [1855].  11 ½ x 9 ¼ (image).  Lithograph by Köllner.  Original hand color.  Faint water stain top margin not affecting image.  Paper time toned.  Else, very good condition.  Very scarce.  Wainwright 2. A/A 

The American Sunday School Union was founded in 1824, its purpose “To establish a Sunday School in every needy neighborhood in the United States, and to publish and circulate a religious literature suitable for youths and adults.”  The Union boasted that they published a book every Saturday and some of the  most delightful were the following children’s picture books by Augustus Köllner: Common Sights in Town & Country (1851);  Common Sights on Land and Water (1852); City Sights for Country Eyes (1856); Country Sights for City Eyes (1858).