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COLLODI, CARLO. Le Avventure di Pinocchio: Storia di un Burattino. Florence, Felice Paggi, 1883.

Small octavo. 236 pp. + ii pp. of advertisements. First edition. The enduring children's classic about a mischievous marionette whose nose grows every time he tells a lie, in the original Italian and wonderfully illustrated with a full-page frontispiece of the titular character as well as sixty-one additional woodcuts interspersed throughout the text.

The first half of Pinocchio was originally published serially in the children's magazine Giornale per i Bambini from 1881 to 1883, and it is thought that the story was not intended primarily as children's literature, as it did not end happily. Pinocchio was hanged from a tree for his various moral failings. It was at the urging of his publisher that author Carlo Collodi (a pseudonym for Carlo Lorenzini) added the second half of the book, in which The Blue Fairy repeatedly comes to Pinocchio's rescue, guiding him toward self-awareness and enabling his transformation from puppet to human. Popular in Italy at the time of its publication, the book and its author went on to gain international acclaim when the story was translated into English in 1892. Pinocchio is still cherished to this day, and has been the subject of numerous adaptations, including popular versions by Disney and even Steven Spielberg, who used the story as the basis for his 2001 film AI.

This very rare first edition of the book -- only five copies have come up for auction at the major houses in nearly twenty-five years, and OCLC currently records no copies -- is bound in quarter red calf and marbled boards by Devauchelle. Raised bands divide the spine into compartments, two of which bear the title and date in gilt. The endpapers are marbled. Housed in a clamshell box with marbled boards and red leather backing, title and decorations on spine in gilt. Some toning and light staining to the interior, a small closed tear to the margin of two pages, and several unobtrusive stamped and handwritten ownership signatures do little to mar an otherwise fine copy of this highspot of children's literature. (Gottlieb/Pierpont Morgan Library 213; Osborne 2, p. 1007). (20920) $75,000.

GERMAN PAPER DOLL. (c. 1800).

With an engraved six-and-a-half inch female doll, shown in side profile. Outfitted with two large costumes, three smaller costumes, a cape, one hat, and three pairs of legs in pantaloons and shoe, all of which are hand-colored. Housed in the original marbled paper portfolio, with paper bands for holding the clothing, handwritten and labeled in Dutch/old German. This is a wonderful piece of European folk art from the period, all the more charming for its want of sophistication. There is some cropping of the feet, else the doll is complete. Contents about fine, and the portfolio shows some wear. (18115) $3,500.

MABY. Am. Sam. Gram. Paris, La Renaissance du Livre, 1922.

Oblong quarto. (13) ff., interleaved with twelve plates colored in pochoir. First edition. A poignant fable about the escapades of a magpie -- who has a body made of a pinecone -- and three little pinecone chicks as they leave the mantel of the fireplace on which they live to venture out into the world. With illustrations colored in stencil by Maby, about whom little is known. Am, Sam, and Gram are the names of the three little birds, who despite their journey into the exciting territory of a woodland stream, apparently cannot escape their ultimate fate as fireplace kindling. Following the story is an explication of the Moral in the tradition of Aesop and other fable literature. The gorgeous illustrations, with their strong, simple pochoir coloring, are stylistically akin to the work of Theodor Van Hoytema. Bound in linen-backed pochoir illustrated boards, which show minor overall soiling and two faint small stains to the upper right corner. Scattered light foxing to page edges and outer margins of text leaves. A near fine copy of a rare and remarkable pochoir picture book. (22295) $3,000

POLYORAMA, OU 20,922,789,888,000 VUES PITTORESQUES. Paris, Gide fils, (c. 1830).

Sixteen lithographed landscapes mounted on cardboard which can be placed side by side to create a variety of different scenes. Each panel measures eight by two-and-a-half inches (20.5 x 6.5 cm). Among the elements depicted in the various panels are a ship docked at harbor, a shepherd tending his flock, and a man fishing. Cards are in fine condition. Housed in original publisher's box with image of two angelic figures bearing a landscape between them. Trimmed with gold paper embossed with a leaf pattern, with one strip missing from top of box, else fine. (Hannas pp.75; Whitton pp. 213). (16524) $3,000.

[WENNERWALD, PALLE]. Anderson, H.C. Den Onde Fyrste. Eventyr for Born og Voksne. Copenhagen, Alex. Vincents Kunstforlag, (c. 1945).

Oblong octavo. (20) pp. With nine illustrations in color by Palle Wennerwald. Until the Nazi occupation of Denmark in 1940, Den Onde Fyrste was one of Hans Christian Andersen's lesser-known tales. Written in 1840, the story tells of a prince who is bent on conquering the world, occupying country after country, erecting his image everywhere. When the prince sets his sights on defeating God, he is ultimately vanquished by a mosquito that flies straight into his brain, driving him mad. It is easy to see how such a story could be adapted for the political reality of Europe under Hitler, and how it would have gained in popularity among an occupied people. Wennerwald dips into the red, green, and yellow palettes to create a visual statement that is at once striking and brutal. A very fine copy of a rare work of occupation literature for children. Bookplate to inside front cover. (22122) $3,500.