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
Cincinnati, OH: Peter G. Thomson, 1885. Octavo. (14)pp. A robust collection of nursery rhymes, each one with a nicely produced engraved illustration. Bound in self-wrappers, which are fully illustrated anad blazingly pink. Some rubbing, else quite crisp and near fine. Unrecorded in OCLC. More
NY: John C. Totten, 1819. 24mo. 46pp. With an illustrated frontispiece, title page, and eight woodcuts. The story of Little Jack, a foundling adopted and raised by an old man, who grows up to become a soldier. Second Totten edition. Bound in original tan printed wrappers, with short split along..... 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
Wendell, MA: J. Metcalf, 1832. 64mo. 18pp. Engravings as title device and final tail-piece. Prefaced by an alphabet is the story of Little Harry, whose uprightness bears fruit among his friends. Lacking wrappers, evidence of light dampstaining at edges, half-inch tear at tail of spine, else a good copy. Ownership..... 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
NY: Baker, Crane & Day. 64mo. 8pp. A sweet collection of lyrics using a question-and-answer motif to laud the wonderful characteristics of the author's mother. Each stanza is headed by an engraving showing mother and child at progressive stages in the child's development, from sleeping in a bassinet to praying..... More
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
Fitchburg, MA: S. & C. Shepley, 1847. 24mo. 64pp. Frontispiece wood engraving shows a garden scene. What follows are two moralistic children's tales: that of Orphan Willie, a wandering minstrel, and that of a young girl's education in the nature and value of truth. Bound in full black cloth, with..... More
Fitchburg, MA: S. & C. Shepley, 1847. 24mo. 64pp. Frontispiece wood engraving shows a garden scene. What follows are two moralistic children's tales: that of Orphan Willie, a wandering minstrel, and that of a young girl's education in the nature and value of truth. This copy bound in blue printed..... More
NY: 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 near..... 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
London: J. Drewry, (c. 1790). 12mo. 24pp. Decorated with the cover illustration, title-page vignette, and six text figures from woodcuts. An early appearance of this popular rhyme, which first appeared in 1765. The Osborne catalogue notes that John Drewry "is considered to be Derbyshire's most notable typographer and its first..... 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
Boston: Munroe & Francis, 1830. 64mo. 16pp. Engravings of animals throughout illustrate the narrator's opinionated and somewhat rambling accounting of their natures, including a brief interlude on the innocent deceit required to trick a monkey into taking medicine. General unobtrusive foxing, else near fine in self-wrappers. Only two copies in..... More
NY: Kiggins & Kellogg, (c. 1855). 64mo. 16pp. Five engravings throughout, four of them full page, illustrate scenes of wilderness adventure. The accompanying tale provides both suspenseful and moralistic overtures to keep the young reader hooked. Bound in gray wrappers, which identify the book as "Second Series. - No. 9"..... 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: Babcock, J., 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
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
Philadelphia: John S. Cotton & Co., (c. 1860). 16mo. (16)pp. Every other page bears a full-page engraving, hand-colored, to detail the honorable naval escapades of the titular Fred Fearnought as he rises through the ranks and proves himself with suitable acts of derring-do. Bound in plain printed wrappers, with other..... 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
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
Boston: Munroe & Francis, 1847. Square 32mo. 168pp. Illustrations throughout - some of a stick figure in action, others more detailed and artful - provide visual aid to the various physical challenges the book advocates. Among these are such fabled activities as "Horse Exercise," "Leaping with the Pole," and "Giant..... More
