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 ...
Read more about Children's Books and Toys
London: Religious Tract Society, (c. 1865). Small quarto. 6pp., + 6 colored plates interleaved. This instructional volume parses the alphabet into six sets of four, with each head quartet accompanied by a short tale employing the four letters. Each text page also bears a border of four Biblical verses, so..... 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
Prado, Marseille: (c. 1930s). A black four-flap enclosure containing materials for a children's pochoir alphabet. The enclosure was sealed with a paper label printed in red and green. Inside is a seven-part accordion-fold piece of card, printed in color on one side. Each letter has a cutout stencil, as well..... More
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
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: American Tract Society, (n.d.). 32mo. 16pp. Engraving on the title page and full-page engraving on the title-page verso. A narrative following the persistent purity and faith of Mary Jones throughout her life, with firm encouragements that readers adopt a similar devotion. Crisp in engraved paper wrappers with repair work..... 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
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
Portland, ME: Bailey & Noyes, n.d. 64mo. 16pp. A moral tale of two orphaned children and the retribution of their wicked uncle, with six woodcut illustrations. The images show a depth of detail, with particular care applied to the leaves on the trees and the feathers on an angel's wings..... More
Portland, ME: Bailey & Noyes. 32mo. 16pp. Illustrated with woodcuts throughout. A volume filled with short, lyrical hymns aimed at simplifying and presenting moral lessons to children. The woodcuts emphasize this point of childhood learning; the largest of them, which occupies a full page, depicts a boy and a girl..... 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
Buffalo, NY: Breed, Butler & Co., 1863. 64pp. A moral tale about the contest for the best composition in Miss Derby’s class at Pendleton Academy, from the set Little Walter’s Library. General fading to covers, some rubbing on edges, lacking title page, else very good. A.e.g. Bookplate. (Welsh 4311, Bondy..... More
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
NY: Scribner's, 1886. Octavo. xi, 209pp., + (16)pp. ads. First edition, second printing. Includes twenty-six illustrations by Reginald B. Birch, twelve of which are full-page. Some rubbing to corners and spine, otherwise a near fine copy of this important children's classic. (PPP 80, BAL 2064). More
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
(Easthampton, MA): Chamberlain Press, 1978. 12mo. (12)ff. One of 120 copies, signed by the printer-illustrator. Printed in Goudy Bold, with titles and ornaments in pink, and ten wonderful wood engravings. Faint rubbing to extremities, else fine in paste-paper boards by Gray Parrot. Prospectus laid in. More
(Easthampton, MA): Chamberlain Press, 1978. Octavo. (6)ff., frenchfold. One of 100 copies, signed by the artist. Designed, printed, and illustrated by Chamberlain. Lear's poem tells of an old man "who invented a purely original dress"; it was edible. Printed in two colors on beige Japanese paper and illustrated with two..... More
Concord, NH: Merriam & Merrill, 1857. Illustrated with full-page wood engravings, vignettes and decorated initials. Contains four stories, each of which apparently saw separate publication: Sailor Stories and Songs; Good Child's Story Book; Child's Book of Songs; and Child's Book About Birds. This omnibus edition is quite uncommon, with only..... More
Banbury, England: J. G. Rusher, (c. 1814-40). 48mo. A rare set of sixteen nineteenth-century chapbooks published by J. G. Rusher, bound together in one volume. The contents are: Adventures of a Half-penny, Anecdotes for Good Children, Children in the Wood, Children in the Wood restored, Dick Whittington and his Cat..... More
Baltimore: William Raine, (c. 1840). 24mo. (8)ff. Hand-colored engravings on every page illustrate clever Jack Horner's tale of generosity and moral rectitude. Bound in pictorial yellow wrappers, with advertisements on the back cover. Light soiling to interior, some edgewear, else near fine. More
London: Darton, 1811. 32mo. 16pp., + 16 inserted plates. Each engraved image depicts the titular good boy engaged in less desirable activities, such as throwing stones, feeding scraps to the family pet, and drawing on the walls. Each is accompanied by a pithy couplet drawn from the soliloquy. The author..... More
New Haven: S. Babcock, (c. 1840). 48mo. 16pp. Seven full-page illustrations of elephants. An naturalistic and moral introduction to elephants, including their habits, environments, and uses, with unsubtle scoffs toward animal cruelty. Minimal expected wear, else fine in yellow printed wrappers. More
(N.p. c. 1850). 24mo. (8)pp. Illustrated in black & white throughout. The intrigue of this booklet originates from its likely pirated content. The engravings are eclectic—an image of a rabbit is accompanied by the British royal seal and the seal of the Ancient Order of Foresters—and poorly printed. Also included..... More
New Haven: S. Babcock, 1850. 16mo. 16pp. Illustrated with wood-engraved title-page vignette and fifteen additional images throughout. The cries of various tradespeople that were once heard around London—from the seller of cat and dog meat, to the dustman—illustrated, and accompanied by a short verse about that person's trade. One of..... More
Philadelphia: John Adams, 1804. 32mo. 31pp. A tale with a moral: when Fatima is taken by Blue Beard, she writes for help, "Now only think what a fine thing it is to be a scholar, for if Fatima could not have wrote to her lover, nobody would do it for..... More
