Most people, when asked about their favorite book, will invariably include a book they read as a child. Hemingway famously proclaimed that "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn". Twain's book, like its predecessor, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, were books whose intended audience was young readers. Such books speak to us on multiple levels. As literature, they are well-crafted and clever with memorable characters and conflicts, but they matter to us for more than these reasons because we discovered them at a formative period of our lives. Their ideas helped to form our own, and so they are more personal ...
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Leipzig: Abel & Müller, (1921). (19)ff., printed rectos only. This boldly illustrated German children’s book tells the story of Mampampe, a young African boy who, despite his mother’s warnings, leaves home in order to explore the wilderness and runs into a fearsome lion. The covers and each page are illustrated... More
Paris: Paul Bernardin, c. 1880s. Small quarto. (12)pp. Illustrated with six bright chromolithographed plates, printed on coated canvas. Each letter of this French alphabet is represented by objects that start with that letter - such as "abricots" and "arlequin" for A, and "lapin" and "lanterne" for L. It also includes... More
(c. 1970s-80s). Pictorial Arabic alphabet poster, each letter of which is presented beside an image of an object beginning with that letter, with the full word beneath. The full word is written with the harakat or tashkil phonetic aids, which provide the correct pronunciation for children who are learning to... More
N.P. c. 1950s. Six wooden boards bound with leather cord. Printed in black and hand-colored throughout. Contains simple sentences for all twenty-six letters of the alphabet, accompanied by an illustration of the action described in the text. Each letter not only represents a noun, but also refers to the name... More
Jindrichuv Hradec: A. Landfrasa a Syna, (1860-1864). 16mo. 16, (32)pp. Orignal brown lithographed wrappers, illustrated on front and back covers, with folded gatherings loosely inserted, still uncut and unopened. With thirty color lithograph plates. The initial printed section provides sample syllables, words, and longer sentences for practice. After this portion... More
NY: American Tract Society, 1848. 32mo. A collection of eight tracts bound together, each 16 pages long, with separate title pages. Illustrated throughout in black & white, including a title-page vignette for each story, by Johannes Oertel and Edward Bookhout. Included here are the stories "Elisha," "Little Dave," "The Stolen... More
NY: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1977. Small square quarto. (14)ff. First edition, inscribed by Anno. Illustrated throughout with Anno’s delicate watercolors, this engaging counting book shows how numbers and mathematics are part of the everyday world around us. A former teacher who has become one of Japan’s leading illustrators, Anno... More
Alnwick: W. Davison, (c. 1820). 24mo. A single sheet of card folded into three panels. Illustrated throughout with wood engravings, including a hunting scene and a depiction of a man giving alms to a beggar. On the inside are two lessons in one-syllable words, Roman capital and lowercase letters, a.... More
London: C. W. Beaumont, 1924. Octavo. (iv), 32, (2)pp. One of 110 copies printed as a deluxe edition with signatures of both author and illustrator. Illustrations throughout, three of which are full-page images, all with the same green, red, yellow, and light brown color palette. The story, set during the... More
Milwaukee, WI: Milwaukee WPA, (c. 1935). Quarto. 14ff. First and presumably only edition. Title-page vignette and eleven brightly colored prints by Kendrick Bell. The accompanying rhyming verse touches upon each animal depicted. The Milwaukee Handicraft Project was an offshoot of the WPA that was founded by a faculty member of... More
(c. 1956). Watercolor and ink on paper, measuring 11 by 8 1/2 inches (28x22cm). Matted and framed. Signed by Bemelmans. This shoulder-length portrait of Bemelmans’s most enduring character is done in the later, bold style encountered in Madeline and the Bad Hat, and it shows red-headed Madeline wearing her characteristic... More
Piccadilly: John Stockdale, 1797. 24mo. 99, (iv)pp. A "new edition," with twenty-three woodcuts. Illustrated throughout with a frontispiece and woodcuts showing scenes from Little Jack’s life by John Bewick, the younger brother of the famed wood engraver and illustrator Thomas Bewick. John Bewick was apprenticed to his brother for five... More
(N.p. c. 1886). A signed original drawing in ink over pencil by Birch, who is best known for illustrating Burnett’s classic work for children, Little Lord Fauntleroy, published in 1886. Fauntleroy is immediately recognizable in his plumed hat and lace-trimmed velvet suit, standing near a little girl in a costume... More
1986. Original ink designs for an alphabet formed from cats, signed and dated by the artist. Blegvad was a prolific children's book artist, whose atmospheric ink drawings are often compared to Gorey and Sendak. His illustrations graced more than 100 picture books, of which the best known is probably Mary... More
Buffalo, NY: Breed, Butler & Co. 1862. 64pp. Well-known Bible stories retold for children by popular children's writer Barrow under the nom de plume Aunt Laura. This title is part of the Aunt Laura series of moral-instruction books, noted by Bradbury as "high spots in any miniature book collection." Bound... More
Waikiki (Honolulu): Fisher Corporation, 1946. Quarto. (126)pp. Illustrated with twenty-nine color plates, which richly depict different aspects of a Hawai'ian luau. Images of the food, dancing, music, and people together evoke the joy and excitement of a traditional luau. Each illustration is preceded by a transparent guard sheet, on which... More
NY: D. Appleton and Co. 1866. Octavo. (v)ff., 192pp. First edition, second issue. With forty-two illustrations by John Tenniel. Carroll’s enduring tale of a child’s dreamworld was first issued in 1865 by Macmillan and Company of London, but Carroll and Tenniel were unhappy with the print quality of the illustrations... More
Portland: Bailey & Noyes, n.d. 64mo. 16pp. Six woodcut illustrations. A moral tale of two orphaned children and the retribution of their wicked uncle. The illustrations show depth of detail, with particular care applied to the leaves on trees and the feathers on an angel's wings. Bound in blue wrappers... More
New Haven: Babcock, Sidney, (c. 1845). 16mo. 16pp. Illustrated with title-page vignette of the Crucifixion and seven wood engravings. A collection of seven stories from the Old and New Testaments, retold for children: Moses Viewing Canaan; Samson Carrying Away the Gates of Gaza; David and Goliath; John Baptizing Christ; Water... More
Worcester, MA: J. Grout, Jr. (c. 1840). 32mo. 24pp. Illustrated with a frontispiece, title-page vignette, four woodcuts, and a tailpiece. Bound in green printed wrappers illustrated with a small vignette to the front cover, and a larger woodcut of a man herding cattle to the rear cover. Corners of covers... More
Worcester: Jonathan Grout, Jr. (c. 1840). 32mo. 24pp. Illustrated with a frontispiece, title-page vignette, six woodcuts, and a tailpiece. Bound in green printed wrappers, illustrated with a small vignette to the front cover and a larger woodcut of a man next to a stream to the rear cover. Gift inscription... More
(Sandbornton, NH): Sandbornton Press, 1835. 48mo. 16pp. Eleven woodcut illustrations of animals, to accompany descriptions of each. The animals presented include the monkey, the spaniel, and the walrus. Each description provides information on the animal's physical characteristics and behavioral habits. Some, as in the case of the ass, add mentions... More
Concord, NH: Atwood & Brown, 1837. 16mo. 16pp. Illustrated with numerous woodcuts throughout. The title page notes that this is the fourth number in the seventh series; the previous year, the Riddler was in the sixth series, suggesting that this was an annual. Although many of the riddles were likely... More
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
York: J. Kendrew, (c. 1823). 24pp., including covers. Illustrated with fifteen woodcuts. One of the 24-page penny books published by Kendrew, which were stitched in a single gathering and then pasted into printed covers later. Often the covers were illustrated with wood engravings and verses that were not relevant to... More
