Mäzli: A Story of the Swiss Valleys (1923)

Title: Mäzli: A Story of the Swiss Valleys
Author: Johanna Spyri
Publisher: J.B. Lippincott Company
Estimated year of printing: 1923

Notes:

Ex Libris: Marie Buckley

“Gift Edition”

Johanna Spyri was a Swiss author who lived from 1827 until 1901. She is best known for writing Heidi, a children’s book about a 5-year old girl’s life in the Swiss Alps which was published in 1881 and is one of the best selling books ever written.

Mäzli is not as well known, but has a similar theme — Mäzli is the youngest of 8 siblings living in the Swiss Valleys. This book was originally written in German, published in 1891. The first publication in English was in 1921, this is a “Gift Edition” published shortly after in 1923 with additional color illustrations throughout. In addition to this edition with a red cover, an almost identical edition was published at the same time with a light green cover.

Historical context:

This book was printed in 1923, the year that Bob Barker, Henry Kissinger, and Charlton Heston were born. It was also the year that President Warren G. Harding, physicist Wilhelm Rontgen (who discovered X-rays), and Gustave Eiffel (who designed the Eiffel Tower) died.