Heroines of the Mission Field, 1881 -Presentation Copy, London Missionary Society

A truly enchanting antique hardback, Heroines of the Mission Field is a richly illustrated 19th-century volume celebrating the lives and work of women missionaries across the world. Published in the late Victorian period, this edition carries all the aesthetic charm of the era: a deep green cloth cover with ornate black embossing, delicate botanical motifs, and a small hand-coloured floral vignette inset on the front.

Inside, the book opens with a handwritten 1881 inscription - “Charles Page, Congregational Sunday School, Leominster, January 1881” - adding a layer of provenance and tenderness that only a gift-book of this age can carry. The pages include engraved portraits, intricate decorative initials, and beautifully set Victorian typography throughout.

Chapters detail the stories of women who travelled everywhere from South Africa to India, Japan, the West Indies, and beyond, a historical document capturing the Victorian fascination with global mission work and the roles women played within it.

This is the kind of book that brings instant soul to a bookshelf or reading nook: richly decorative, deeply storied, and full of those gentle foxing marks and patina that remind you it has lived a long, well-cherished life.

Condition: Gorgeous antique condition with expected age-related wear: light foxing, gentle softening at corners, and a clean, firm binding. Handwritten 1881 inscription on the endpaper.

A beautiful piece for collectors of early women’s history, Victorian decorative books, or anyone who loves objects with a long memory.