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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Dordrecht: A. Blusse & Zoon, (c. 1794). 24mo. 24pp., + 8 plates. The engraved plates depict the marvels of a fair and the street performances therein, including dancing, singing, and a magician, all hand-colored. Particular highlights include a hurdy-gurdy man and a magic lantern show featuring a naval battle. The..... More
London: A. Park, c. 1840. Quarto. 6ff. First and last page pasted to inside covers. Illustrated with sixteen handcolored lithographed engravings, presumably by the publisher, Arthur Park, an engraver, lithographer, and artist who produced figures and scenes for juvenile toy theaters. He emigrated to America in 1842. The text covers..... More
London: McMorquodale & Co., (c. 1934). Small quarto. (20)pp. Illustrated with twenty-two full-page plates in vibrant colors, with text running underneath. The tale told here is an adaptation of the famous, and famously controversial, "Ten Little Niggers" story, but here the boys of the original become anthropomorphic balloons of various..... More
Paris: Marcilly Ainé, (1825). Six 32mo. volumes, 31pp. each, except "Normandie," which is 32pp. Each volume bears two full-page color engravings, focusing on the different attire worn in the various French regions represented among the set and some of their most notable cities. The six volumes discuss Normandy, Béarn and..... More
NY: Pierpont Morgan Library, 1975. Quarto. xxx, 263pp. Illustrated throughout with photographic replicas of title pages, covers, woodcuts, and engravings, in both black & white and color. Inscribed as a special copy to Gerald Gottlieb, the main author of the text. A wonderfully comprehensive and well-organized reference. Bound in blue..... More
(Mexico City: D. E. Herrero Y Cia, c. 1955). Oblong octavo. (56)pp. Tenth edition (stated). With a pedagogical outline from the Secretary of Education. Beginning with correct posture for standing and running, the text covers a wide range of topics designed to encourage good habits, understand natural phenomena, and become..... 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
NY: Kiggins & Kellogg, (c. 1860). 32mo. 24pp. Decorated with various wood engravings. An impressive collection of riddles and rebuses, for at-home amusement. Bound in pale pink wrappers. Fine. 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
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
Philadelphia: Kimber and Conrad, (c. 1812). 24mo. (24)pp., partially unopened. Illustrated with twenty-two half-page wood engravings, each with a simple sentence underneath related to the image; also included is a full-page engraving on the title page. The woodcuts are all collected from other books. On the back of the title..... More
London: Macmillan and Co., 1914. The Bombay Edition. One of 1050 copies. Each story begins with an illustrated initial, and bears a full-page illustration drawn by Kipling himself. Bound by Bayntun-Riviere in full red morocco with gilt rules to covers, edges, and turn-ins, gilt elephant medallions to spine, and on..... More
(Stillwater, ME: Nancy Leavitt, 1993). (14)pp. One of twenty-six copies. A calligraphic manuscript using gouache and glair, written, designed, and bound by Nancy Leavitt. The letters of the alphabet are arranged into phrases about traveling. Presented in lively hues of orange, olive, violet, and periwinkle, the text is gracefully written..... More
(United States): 1867. Small octavo. (8)pp. A handwritten alphabet, skillfully and whimsically decorated with pen-and-ink drawings for each letter. The introductory page cites the work as a gift from a father, likely a recent immigrant from a German-speaking country, to his young son on the occasion of his Namenstage, or..... More
NY: McLoughlin Bros. (c. 1880). 48mo. (8)pp. Illustrated throughout with the antics and mishaps of a troublemaking young boy. Bound in wrappers with an uncommonly colorful upper cover of green, orange, and black. Faint edgewear and minor dampstain to inside upper cover, else fine. More
New York: McLoughlin Bros. 1898. Small quarto. (12)ff. A painting book for children, including six color sample pages and six pages showing the same images as outlines. With faded hues similar to those in the full-color images, the outlines suggest colors for the young painter to use. The verso of..... More
NY: McLoughlin Bros. (c. 1875). Small quarto. (14)pp. Four full-page color woodblock illustrations, each showing a child playing out one of the activities recounted in the verses opposite. Some bear moral overtones: usefulness over idleness, obedience over indolence, and care for all living creatures. Others are more playful, dealing with..... More
Springfield, MA: McLoughlin Bros. 1940-1941. Four quarto volumes. (60)pp. each. Illustrated throughout in color and black & white. This set of four volumes come from the McLoughlin Bros. series "The Little Color Classics," with the titles "Raggedy Ann Helps Grandpa Hoppergrass" (#843), "Raggedy Ann and the Hoppy Toad" (#844), "Raggedy..... More
NY: McLoughlin Bros. (c. 1873). (12)pp. A chapbook of moral songs by Isaac Watts, illustrated with four color engravings. Part of a series of "Illuminated texts for Sunday school rewards" published by McLoughlin Brothers. Minor internal soiling, previous owner's stamp to inside rear wrapper, which has offset onto last page..... More
London: Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, (1891). Small quarto. 64pp. First edition. With photo-etched illustrations in black & white throughout by Mrs. E. M. Boyd, Mr. R. André, and by the poet, Louisa A. Meredith. Although born in Birmingham, England, Meredith moved to New South Wales, and then Tasmania, after..... More
Concord, NH: J. A. Merriam & Rufus Merrill, (c. 1855). Small octavo. 16pp. Wood engravings throughout illustrate the rhyming tale of two children lost in a forest, who are captured by ruffians before finding their way home again. The author, "H. S. B.", provides a preface asserting that this version..... More
Troy, NY: Merriam & Moore, (c. 1830). 24mo. 12pp. Replete with engravings, including two on the verso of the title page. Seven of the engravings are by Alexander Anderson. This story was derived from Maria Edgeworth's "Frank," a collection of children's moral tales each involving the idyllic titular child. The..... More
Conway, MA: Robert L. Merriam, 1975. 24pp. One of 1000 copies. Every other page illustrated with quaint scenes from the moral tale. Bound in pale paper wrappers and housed in yellow paper slipcase. Fine. (2 7/16 by 1 11/16; 62x44mm). 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
(N.p. Michael Mar Press, 1977). Small quarto. (16)ff. One of twelve copies, hand-produced by jewelry designer Michael Dorsa and bookbinder Margaret Rhein. With twelve color illustrations. The text and images were both from an original work written and drawn in 1964 by Mike Dorsa and Tom Warner, age nine. In..... More
