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Lydia Louisa Anna Very (November 2, 1823 – September 10, 1901) was an American writer, educator, and illustrator known for authoring the earliest shape books in America.
''Red Riding Hood''
at the Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Very, Lydia Louisa Anna 1823 births 1901 deaths 19th-century American women writers 19th-century American poets American children's writers Writers who illustrated their own writing American children's book illustrators 19th-century American novelists Writers from Salem, Massachusetts Novelists from Massachusetts Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century
Lydia Louisa Anna Very (November 2, 1823 – September 10, 1901) was an American writer, educator, and illustrator known for authoring the earliest shape books in America.
Biography
She was born inSalem, Massachusetts
Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
, the daughter of two first cousins, Lydia Very and Jones Very, a captain during the War of 1812. Her brother Jones became a Transcendentalist poet and clergyman.
She became a teacher at the age of 18 and spent most of her 34-year teaching career in the local public schools. As an artist, she worked in oil and clay.
In 1863 she wrote and designed ''Red Riding Hood'', a verse version of the folk tale "Little Red Riding Hood
"Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brot ...
" that was die-cut into the outline shape of the little girl with the wolf crouching by her feet. Published by L. Prang & Co., it was the first book in the United States to be shaped like a person or an animal. Prang followed up with more shaped books (also known as 'Doll books') written by Very, including ''Goody Two Shoes'' and a verse version of Daniel Defoe's ''Robinson Crusoe
''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...
''. Very claimed the shaped-book design was hers and tried but failed to get a patent; her claim was disputed by Prang, which countered that it had originated the shaped books. In any case, the shaped books were quickly imitated by other publishers, and Very later wrote that she was paid very little for these books, which were quite successful.
Very wrote a great deal of poetry, which she published in magazines and newspapers of the day as well as in two anthologies. She also translated poems from French and German. Her few novels include ''A Strange Recluse'' (1899).
The Very family papers, including five volumes of Very's poetry and other materials, were published by the American Antiquarian Society in 2009.
Books
* ''Poems'' (1856) * ''Red Riding Hood'' (1863) * ''Robinson Crusoe'' (1864) * ''Goody Two Shoes'' (1865) * ''Poems and Prose Writings'' (1890) * ''Sayings and Doings Among Insects and Flowers'' (1897) * ''Sylph, Or the Organ-Grinder's Daughter'' (1898; with illustrations by Very) * ''A Strange Disclosure: A Tale of New England Life'' (1898) * ''A Strange Recluse'' (1899) * ''An Old-Fashioned Garden, and Walks and Musings Therein'' (1900)References
External links
*''Red Riding Hood''
at the Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Very, Lydia Louisa Anna 1823 births 1901 deaths 19th-century American women writers 19th-century American poets American children's writers Writers who illustrated their own writing American children's book illustrators 19th-century American novelists Writers from Salem, Massachusetts Novelists from Massachusetts Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century