Bonstelle, Jessie & Marian de Forest. Little Women Letters from the House of Alcott. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1914. First Edition.

First edition, published September 1914. An important collection of letters, journals, reminiscences, and family material relating to Louisa May Alcott and the Alcott family, selected by Jessie Bonstelle and Marian de Forest. The volume explores the real family life behind Little Women, with chapters devoted to the Alcott children, Bronson Alcott’s observations and journals, the influence of Abigail May Alcott, childhood diaries, Louisa’s girlhood and womanhood, friendships, beliefs, and other intimate family material. Illustrated, including a photographic frontispiece of Orchard House, the Alcott homestead in Concord, Massachusetts.

Original publisher’s green cloth with gilt and pictorial decoration to the front board depicting Orchard House, repeated gilt lettering and decoration to spine. Copyright page states “Copyright, 1914” and “Published, September, 1914,” consistent with the first edition.

A well-preserved example retaining attractive color and strong gilt decoration. Light general shelf wear, including rubbing and small areas of wear at the corners and spine extremities; some age-toning and minor wear to the text-block edges. Binding remains presentable and the interior appears generally clean and well preserved. Please review photographs for a complete representation of condition.

An appealing early 20th-century Alcott volume, particularly desirable for its extensive use of original family letters and journals and its direct connection to the people and places that inspired Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.