OHIO AT MICHIGAN:
IMPORTANT HOLDINGS FROM THE STATE OF OHIO

Wyss, Johann David, 1743-1818. The Swiss Family Robinson; or, Adventures of a Father and Mother and Four Sons in a Desert Island. The Genuine Progress of the Story forming a clear Illustration of the First Principles of Natural History, and Many Branches of Science which most immediately apply to the Business of Life. From the seventh London edition. Cleveland, Published by M.F. Tooker. 1853. Stereotyped by W. H. Shain, at the Hudson Stereotype Foundry, Hudson, Ohio. Printed by Sawyer, Ingersoll & Co., Steam Press, Pentagon.

This edition of the children’s classic, Swiss Family Robinson, was published in Cleveland in 1853, having been printed at the “steam press” in nearby Hudson. The copy at the University of Michigan was proudly acquired by a 12-year-old boy living in Doris, Michigan (Ionia County), Byron L. Shaw, who signed the front inside cover with the date January 1856.

Swiss Family Robinson, an adaptation of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, was first published in 1812 and enjoyed great success. A tale of a family shipwrecked and stranded on a desert island, it is still to be found on many reading lists for upper elementary and middle school students. In it, the characters model both resourcefulness and adaptability while experiencing many exciting adventures. Besides its entertainment value, this book offered practical instructions on self-sufficiency, a trait highly valued on America’s frontier in the mid-19th century.

The illustrations in this edition consist of simple woodcuts interspersed with the story. Some of the illustrations are very similar to those that appeared in a Boston edition of 1832, which also claimed to be based on the seventh London edition.

This volume is part of the Hubbard Imaginary Voyages Collection at the University of Michigan, one of the world’s largest collections of items relating to Robinson Crusoe. The Collection was donated by Lucius L. Hubbard in the 1920s and now consists of some 3000 volumes. It reflects the enthusiastic reception accorded to Robinson Crusoe from its first appearance in 1719 to the present, including translations, adaptations, spinoffs, film adaptations, and references in popular culture such as advertisements, political cartoons, and comic strips.