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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Philadelphia, Balitmore, New York, Boston: Fisher and Brother, (c. 1850). 32mo. 9pp. Eight hand-colored etchings, as well as a hand-colored front cover. Each page bears four lines on the joys of coming home from school, from games to meals to family. Bound in paper wrappers, with some insignificant wear along..... More
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
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
(Derby: Richardson, n.d. (c. 1835). 48mo. (12) pp. (wrappers included in pagination). Title-page vignette and six small woodcut illustrations. Rare provincially-published abridgement of the Dick Whittington tale, known only in one institutional copy. Front wrappers toned, otherwise near fine. More
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
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
Banbury: J. G. Rusher, (c. 1825). 64mo. 16pp. Illustrated throughout with wood engravings, exemplifying Jack's crafty ploys toward slaying the titular giant. Bound in blue printed wrappers. Fine. More
New Haven: Sidney Babcock, (c. 1840). 64mo. 16pp. A near-miniature chapbook illustrated with nine woodcuts, including a frontispiece of Emma, the older sister, giving her baby sister Caroline a flower, and a title-page vignette of girls jumping rope. A tale about learning to share and being patient and kind to..... More
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
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. 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
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
York: J. Kendrew, (c. 1820). 48mo. A collection of verses for children, illustrated throughout with woodcut vignettes on nearly every page, and a large cut of a preacher at his pulpit to the rear cover. Slight split starting to spine, else near fine in white printed wrappers. (Davis 42; Gumuchian..... More
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
NY: J. P. Dinsmore, (c. 1870). 32mo. (8); (8)pp. Two pamphlets bound tete-beche and with separate publication statements. New Rhymes bears Dinsmore's imprint, while Songs for the Little Ones was printed by Seth W. Fowle & Sons in Boston. Both pamphlets are of similar structures, with poems framed by advertisements..... More
NY: Kiggins & Kellogg. 64mo. 8pp. Illustrated with six woodcuts, plus a title-page vignette. The images are highly detailed for their small size—a ship at sea buffeted by rolling waves under thick clouds, and a fish at the end of a fishing line with an entire landscape scene behind it..... More
Banbury: J. G. Rusher, (c. 1830). 32mo. 16pp. Replete with etchings showing farmyard animals and children at play and at work. Each etching accompanies rhyming verses bemoaning lacksadasical or arrogant children, praising those who are and humble and hardworking, and humorously describing the quirks of various animal companions. Uncut. Bound..... 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: 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
Wendell, MA: J. Metcalf, 1828. 16mo. 16pp. Illustrated with numerous woodcut vignettes. The text consists of two stories: that of William and Ellen, who are made to suffer a number of unfortunate mishaps as a result of the handiwork of a naughty boy, who gets his comeuppance in the end;..... More
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
Otley, UK: William Walker, (c. 1830). 24mo. (32)pp. Twenty-eight hand-colored engravings of a variety of animals, ranging from a wolf to a peacock to an ass. In addition to its own illustration, each animal receives a full page of text describing its habitats, eating habits, and uses for humans. In..... More
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
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
