Derby: (John Drewry), (1790). 32mo. 24pp. Twenty-four woodcuts scattered throughout illustrate a variety of rebuses and lyrical puzzles. Decorative borders adorn the title page and the beginnings of each of the book's sections: riddles, "several comical Questions," and "merry Tales and comical Jests." An impressive and entertaining compendium, suitable for..... More
NY: The American Tract Society, (c. 1827-1833). 64mo. 16pp. Seven total engravings, including one on title page and two full-page. A familiar child's tale advocating for devotion, humility, and graciousness. Begins with a page of verse, summarizing the story's salient points. Mild edgewear and minimal, if any, internal foxing, else..... More
Jaffna: Strong & Asbury Printers, 1873. 48mo. (8)pp. Illustrated with a woodcut title-page decoration, plus two others in the text. An American-style chapbook, entirely in Tamil. Printed at what was formerly a print shop belonging to missionaries, but which by about 1855 was owned and operated by native Sri Lankans..... More
London: A. Park, (c. 1810s). Octavo. (8)ff. Colored engravings illustrate this sometimes scientific, sometimes fantastic paternal account of the state of the Earth, and all its peoples and regions, and its moon. Bound in plain printed wrappers, which assign the book to the publisher's series of "Humpty Dumpty's Tales," the..... More
London: Dean & Son, (c. 1860). 32mo. 8pp. Engravings of bucolic English scenes adorn the prose tale of the pious Dutch farmer and his influence on British soldiers, and the following poem entitled "The Seed and the Prayer". Very rare, with no physical institutional holdings, and even rarer for its..... More
NY: Kiggins & Kellogg, (c. 1850). 48mo. Illustrated throughout with full-page black & white engravings and smaller vignettes. This near-miniature chapbook contains a tale about American colonization and independence, told to a young audience in order to explain the significance of the July 4th holiday. Fine in printed buff wrappers..... More
Boston: Taggard & Thompson, 1858. 16mo. 31pp. Nine full-page color engravings, illustrating key scene's in the titular fox's antics in his journey to find food for his family. He finds a farm, confounds the animals, and captures a goose, only to again resort to his cunning ways to escape the..... More
New Haven: Sidney's Press, 1833. 12mo. (24)pp. Frontispiece and four full-page wood engravings, plus six small vignettes by Alexander Anderson. Contains five short texts that alternate between illustrating virtuous behavior and stories about animals. Minimal foxing, else fine in green wrappers. More
NY: Kiggins & Kellogg, (c. 1850). 8pp. A charming alphabet chapbook with a couplet for each letter, and each page illustrated with a single woodcut. Near fine in orange printed wrappers, mildly creased. More
Taunton: J. Poole, 1809. Seventeen engravings, many hand-colored, guide the young reader through Alphabet Hall and its lettered and numbered inhabitants. Then follows nine stanzas-worth of virtuous maxims, then, strangely and in distinctly smaller type, "On Aerial Castle-Building," which admonishes the reader against daydreaming and unproductive scheming. Gift inscription on..... More
Boston: Mayhew & Baker, 1858. Square octavo. (32)pp., including wrappers. One of the Fireside Picture Books. Illustrated with nine large engravings and two smaller vignettes by "Morte". Each illustration is accompanied by one of the nine verses from the Mother Goose nursery rhyme, "There was a Little Man, and he..... More
New Haven: J. Babcock, 1822. 16mo. 32 pp. Illustrated with eight plates, each bearing two engravings by Alexander Anderson. This is the first part of an abridged version of Hundred Wonders of the World, also published by Babcock, and for which an advertisement appears on the title-page verso. The text..... More
Boston: Degen & Estes, (1859). 16mo. 8pp. With frontispiece wood engraving by John Andrew, and unsigned engraved head- and tailpieces. A short, sentimental poem with religious undertones about the many interpretations of "home." This is the second title in "My Own Little Library" series, which also appeared under the Taggard..... More
Philadelphia: Morgan & Yeager, 1832. 32mo. 32pp. Illustrated with a frontispiece and five engraved plates, all of which are hand-colored. The text of this moral tale in verse was adapted from the original French story written by Madame de Beaumont. Catherine Ann Dorset chose to write anonymously, even though she..... More
NY: Lane & Scott, 1851. 64mo. 16pp. Two engravings, one at title and one at beginning of first chapter. An account of the evangelical efforts of a white missionary to an anonymous group of Native Americans. Bound in yellow wrappers. Mild general soiling to exterior, some foxing to interior, else..... More
London: Orlando Hodgson, (c. 1840). 16mo. 6ff., + wrappers. Each leaf presents the reader with a half-page illustration of activities suitable for the time of day described in the verse below them. The images are hand-colored in a variety of shades, giving them uncommon depth. The book weaves counting from..... More
Gainsbrough: H. and G. Mozley, 1800. Frontispiece and twenty-seven other woodcuts throughout provide visual aid to this young girl's alphabet. The chapbook has intentions beyond its overt rhetorical claim; it uses the mnemonic device of the English alphabet to educate young girls on the proper components of a woman's wardrobe..... More
New York: T. Mason and G. Lane for the Sunday School Union, 1837. 16mo. 26pp. Probable first American edition. Frontispiece and six small vignettes from wood engravings. First published in London in 1828, this tale of a rescued kitten who is eventually reunited with its mother by the title character..... More
Cincinnati: U. P. James, (c. 1860). 24mo. 31pp. Illustrated throughout with stock wood engravings to accompany alphabets, vocabulary lists, grammar lessons, and short poems and moral stories. Crisply printed and, save expected minor soiling to exterior, remarkably clean in blue wrappers. Fine. More
London: Harris, John, 1808. 32mo. (15)ff. Fourteen engravings, two hand-colored, mostly depicting the anthropomorphized characters from the lyrical tale for children. Butterfly's Ball has inspired several other works, including a 1973 picture book by Alan Aldridge and William Plomer, an animated short, a rock opera, an orchestral composition, and a...... More
(Easthampton, MA): Cheloniidae Press, 1986. Octavo. (54)pp., frenchfold. One of 231 copies, signed by Alan James Robinson. The alphabet and the Latin and common names of the birds are printed in two colors after lettering by Suzanne Moore. The opening text is from "Animate Creation," a popular edition of "Our..... More
(N.p.): Cheloniidae Press, 1991. Quarto. (89)pp. One of 210 copies, signed by both Robinson and McGrath at the colophon. Illustrated throughout with head- and tail-pieces by Robinson, as well as an example of calligraphy by Suzanne Moore and one by Elizabeth Curtis. A celebration of McGrath upon the fiftieth anniversary..... More
(Los Angeles): William Cheney, 1975. (30)ff. The famous verse from "A Apple Pie, B Bit It, C Cut It," etc. is illustrated with large calligraphic-style letters in this micro-miniature book. It is the smallest book printed in California and was executed by William Cheney for Dawson's Book Shop. A very..... More
Los Angeles: W. M. Cheney, 1953. Small octavo. xiv, 18pp. One of 100 copies. A satirically aloof academic text on Pig Latin. Fine in tan wrappers. More
(N.p.): Cherub Press, 1987. (8)ff., frenchfold. One of 100 copies. The legend of the creation of woman, printed on Rakusai paper toned in several colors, and with a hand-colored frontispiece by Kim Butcher. Sewn oriental-style into pale blue wrappers, and housed in a slipcase. Fine, with some edgewear to slipcase..... More
