Banbury: J. G. Rusher, (c. 1810). 64mo. 16pp. Various urban occupations, such as the postman, the wax-worker, and purveyors of fine sprats, strawberries, and potatoes, are depicted through lyric verses and engraved illustrations. Bound in plain wrappers with scant chips, splits at spine of first conjugate leaves, else near fine. More about The Cries of Banbury and London, and Celebrated Stories
New Haven: S. Babcock, 1840. 32mo. 16pp. A moral chapbook with many engraved illustrations throughout. The titular explanations are told from a mother to her daughter. They primarily deal with the origins and uses of various textiles, but by the end of the story they encompass all living things designed... More about The Flock of Sheep; Or, Familiar Explanations of Simple Facts
Banbury: J. G. Rusher, (1814). 64mo. 16pp. Illustrated with engravings throughout, which follow Whittington's rise from poverty to mayoralty, with the help, and occasional troublemaking, of his cat. Bound in paper wrappers, somewhat toned and with a tear along the tail of the spine. Near Fine. More about The History of Duke Whittington, Lord Mayor of London; With the Adventures of His Cat
Banbury: J. G. Rusher, (c. 1810). 64mo. 16pp. Illustrated throughout with engravings depicting the stages of Tom Thumb's journey, including falling into the king's lunch, riding a butterfly, and battling a spider. Below each are two or three stanzas of verse describing, often humorously, the events. Bound in plain wrappers... More about The History of Tom Thumb
Banbury: J. G. Rusher, (c. 1820). 32mo. (16)pp. Each page begins with an engraving, followed by a poem, that adds to the cast of characters in Jack's house. Then follows some moral lyrics, likewise accompanied by exemplary images. Bound in blue wrappers with ragged bottom edge, pages unopened, else a.... More about The House that Jack Built; an Entertaining Story, for Children
NY: Kiggins & Kellogg, (c. 1865). 8pp. One full-page engraving and six half-page engravings. Each image is accompanied by explanatory text on the object's creation and function. Examples include a tub, a raft, and a bed. In plain paper wrappers, with advertisement for Kiggins & Kellogg at rear. Remarkably crisp... More about The Little Sketch-Book; or Useful Objects Illustrated
Concord (NH): John F. Brown, 1837. 64mo. 16pp. Engravings throughout. Descriptions, with both moral and functional value, of various objects, including a windmill, a cannon, a tent, and a barge. In printed pale orange paper wrappers. Foxed, else near fine and very scarce. Signature of former owner on title page. More about The Medley
Philadelphia: American Sunday School Union, 1827. 48mo. 16pp. Engraved frontispiece and title page, as well as several devices in text. A moral tale told through the nature of snow-drop flowers, the lesson providing greater resolve in Christ's provision and righteousness. The final two pages rephrase the lesson into a poem... More about The Snow-Drop
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 about The Story of Mister Fox. Good Little Pigs Library Vol. 3
York: J. Kendrew, (c. 1820). 48mo. 31pp. Illustrated with woodcuts of Tom Thumb's adventures, including a run-in with a giant, a flight in the talons of a bird, and a ride on a pony. Tom Thumb's journey consists of a series of crafty conversations and escapes, tricks and the occasional... More about Tom Thumb's Folio; or, a New Penny Play-thing for Little Giants
York: J. Kendrew, (c. 1820). 48mo. 30pp. Playful woodcuts decorate each page, depicting bizarre scenes, such as the devil hugging a witch, a tailor riding a goose, and a monkey shaving a goat. Each is accompanied by rhyming verses lending whimsical comentary. Bound in orange wrappers, pleasantly crisp with scant... More about The World Turned Upside Down; Or, No News, and Strange News
Alnwick: W. Davison, (c. 1815). 24mo. 36pp. With thirty-four wood engravings, each of a different reptile or insect. Descriptions of sea turtles, vipers, locusts, and bees detail each animal's habits and habitats, as well as their distinct physical characteristics. Bound in plain printed wrappers, toned as expected with minor bumping... More about A Natural History of Reptiles, Serpents, and Insects
York: J. Kendrew, (c. 1820). 48mo. 31pp. Woodcut frontispiece depicting Crusoe, as well as several throughout portraying scenes of Crusoe's hunts, his interactions with Friday, and his ultimate rescue. An abridged version of Daniel Defoe's seminal work. Faint toning throughout, minimal edgwear, else fine in orange printed wrappers. More about Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Written by Himself
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 verse below them. Each image is hand-colored in a variety of shades, giving them uncommon depth. The book weaves counting from one... More about The Infant's Numerator in Verse
Birmingham: C. Caswell, (c. 1870). (16)pp. Engraved frontispiece. A moral tale on the ills of covetousness and theft, and the corresponding rights of honesty and confession. Bound in yellow paper wrappers. Untitled hymn (first line: "Among the deepest shades of night") appears on lower cover. Scant foxing and creasing to... More about A Lesson from a Bed-Quilt
NY: Lindner, Eddy & Clauss, (n.d.). 32mo. (12)pp. Full-page engravings throughout. Each illustrates a different customer of Clark's O.N.T. spool cotton, including the royal family, Native Americans, witches, and sailors. These are expounded upon by a four-line rhyming poem advertising the use of O.N.T. In pictorial paper wrappers. Fine..... More about Rhyme & Reason
Dublin: Cuala Press, 1940. Octavo. (viii), (72)pp. First edition, limited to 450 copies. Illustrated with a unicorn device by Edmund Dulac on the title page. An essay which first appeared in "The Irish Statesman" in 1919, along with a second essay, "Swedenborg, Mediums, and the Desolate Places," written in 1914... More about If I Were Four-and-Twenty
(Chicago): The Compulsive Printer, 1977. Octavo. (30)ff. From an edition of 75 copies signed by the artist, Joseph D'Ambrosio, and the printer, Elmore Mundell, this is one of twenty-five with an extra signed serigraph and deluxe binding. The text is James Joyce's take on Aesop's "The Fox and the Grapes."... More about The Mookse and the Gripes. From Two Tales of Shem and Shaun
(Dublin): Dolmen Press, 1954. Tall octavo. 32pp. One of 225 copies. Printed in black with red initials and with a decorative title-page spread, two full-page illustrations, and six pictorial headpieces by Mia Cranwill. The tragic myth of Deirdre and the sons of Usnech, who were slain by the jealous Conchobor... More about Longes mac n-Usnig: Being the Exile and Death of the Sons of Usnech
Leipzig: Pavla Riube, (c. 1880). Small quarto. 8pp. plus six plates laid in throughout. The chromolithographed plates illustrate the stages of the story, commonly known to American audiences as "Sleeping Beauty", from the princess' birth, to the pricking of her finger on the spindle, to her reawakening by the prince... More about Spiashchaia Tsarevna [The Sleeping Princess
(France: c. 1850). 48mo. 16ff. accordion-fold. Each page with an engraved illustration, hand colored with details precisely illuminated in gold. The story follows the brutal, cannibalistic terror of a local ogre, who is finally slain by a valiant French knight. Bound in protective boards covered in red brocade paper, with... More about Tale of the Death of an Ogre
London: W. Bulmer, 1795; 1796. Quarto. Two books bound together in one volume: xx, 76; xv, vii, 126pp. First editions thus. With a fore-edge painting by the "double-line" painter depicting the pastoral village of Lissoy where Oliver Goldsmith spent his youth, standing in for the pseudonymous town of Auburn in... More about Poems by Goldsmith and Parnell; together with The Chase. A Poem. By William Somerville
Paris: Chez tous les libraires, (c. 1841). Duodecimo. 40pp., + twenty-panel leporello. Beginning with Charlemagne and closing with Napoleon, the folding tableau contains lithographed portraits of the kings of France, as well as illustrated scenes depicting historically significant events that occurred during their reign. The text in the accompanying booklet... More about Petit Musée National. L'histoire de France en 125 tableaux
NY: E. P. Dutton and Company, (c. 1870's). 16mo. (62)pp., including illustrations and advertisements. Part of the "Our Boy's Little Library" series. Copiously illustrated with nearly forty black & white engravings and sixteen three-line initials. Artists include noted English engravers Kate Greenaway, Robert Paterson, William Luson Thomas, and George Pearson... More about Bright Picture Pages. Full of Stories
NY: McLoughlin Bros. Octavo. (34)pp. A collection of uncolored images, two to six per page, which a child is invited to paint with watercolors. The interior of the front cover lays out the purpose of the book, as well as a list of suggested colors and tools and instructions for... More about The Little Folks' Painting Book
