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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Boston: Ticknor, Reed, & Fields, 1852. Octavo. vi, (7), 256pp. First edition. First issue, with “lifed” for “lifted” on page 21, line 3. Illustrated with a frontispiece and six plates after designs by Hammat Billings. Hawthorne’s groundbreaking attempt to retell Greek myths in a style suitable for children met with..... More about A Wonder-book for Girls and Boys
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1967. 51pp. One of 210 copies. With four full-page black and white illustrations. A fine copy in gilt-stamped polished navy blue leather. (2 5/16 by 1 7/8; 59x47mm). More about The Bell and Other Tales
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1963. 64pp. One of 350 copies. The second book of the Press. Contains six little-known tales taken from a miniature edition published in Boston, 1863, and wood-engraved vignettes from the same source. Fine in pictorial boards backed in cloth. (2 5/16 by 1 7/8; 59x48mm). More about Grimm's Fairy Tales
Buffalo: Hillside Press, 1978. 50pp. One of 250 copies. A version of the Arabian nights, illustrated in black & white. Fine in olive green cloth. (2 1/4 by 2; 59x49mm). More about Woman's Wit
Charlestown, MA: Hobbs, George W., (1850). 64mo. (32)pp. Illustrated with hand-colored vignettes at the top of each page, along with two full-page frontispieces and two interior titles. The stated title has been taken from the upper board, but the text itself is divided into two separate stories: "The Little Reward"... More about The Tiny Picture Book
Easton, PA: Michael F. Bixler, 1966. Quarto. 16pp. One of 100 copies. Signed by the printer. The much-beloved Christmas tale, as retold by Alexandre Dumas and adapted for this edition. Opening nine-line initial, plus three six-line initials, all printed in blue.General edgewear, else very good in red paper wrappers. Two bookplates. More about The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
Boston: Henry Hoyt, (1860). 12mo. 164pp. Each lesson is illustrated with wood engravings, and contain passages from the New Testament followed by questions and an explanatory verse. There was a second edition of this work published in 1876, issued by Hoyt's successor. This edition is known in six institutional holdings... More about The Child's Illustrated Scripture Question Book: Containing Forty-Five Lessons on the Gospels
NY: Tuffy Books, 1990. Octavo-sized Tuffy Tote Book with accompanying design templates and original artwork. Book is (12)pp. These items demonstrate the design process for children's board books, with particular attention in the templates to text layout, branding, and die-cuts that enhance illustrations on either side of a page. The... More about The Little Engine That Could. Together with: original artwork
1935-1938. Six original paintings, all signed by the artist. This set of paintings vividly depicts six different puppets, each with caricatured features reminiscent of the traditional style of Punch and Judy: rosy cheeks, mitten-hands, and large eyes and mouths. The six images display a nurse with an infant, a jester... More about Six puppet designs
Otley, UK: Renwick, (c. 1940). Small octavo. (12)pp. A children's book with twelve illustrations, six of which are in full color, that depict scenes from the circus, including acrobats, clowns, and a variety of animals. With original artwork on separate sheets for all twelve images, including additional color overlays for... More about Circus Time. Together with the original artwork for the book
(Portland, OR): Chamberlain Press, 1981. Small octavo. (24)pp. Frenchfold. One of 125 copies printed on Japanese paper and signed by the artist-printer. The short verses are surrounded by decorative borders, printed in green. Illustrated with seven full-page wood engravings in Chamberlain's typically charming style. Bound Japanese style in green decorated... More about A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go
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 about Kermis-Tafreeltjes, in Geetste Kunstplaatjes, op Boert-en Ernstige Dichttrant Beschreven
(Paris: Berthellemot, c. 1820). A complete set of fifty playing cards, in the original box, comprised of: twenty-four hand-colored engravings of Parisian street vendors; a hand-colored card depicting a judge declaring “Peace, peace,” which stops the game; twenty-four corresponding text cards with the cries of each vendor and a rhyme..... More about Les Cris de Paris: Amusement de Société
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 about A Picture Book for Little Children
London: McMorquodale & Co., (c. 1934). Small quarto. (20)pp. 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 hues with... More about Ten Little Toy Balloons
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 about The Wonderful Adventures of the Little Man and His Little Gun
London: Wallis, 1801. Complete set of ten 48mo. volumes held in a wooden box designed to resemble a bookcase. 64; 32; 64; 64; 64; 32, 32; (64); 64; 62, 2; 64pp. Nine volumes bear engraved frontispieces; those on natural history, geography and astronomy, and botany contain engraved plates, and the... More about The Book-Case of Knowledge
Paris: Rignoux, 1823. Ten volumes, each with 48 pages. First edition. Illustrated with 68 plates from copper engravings and one folding map. Legrand's miniature library for children contains the following titles: Morale en Action; Mythologie; Geographie; Fables; Histoire de France; Contes; Animaux; Insectes; Mineralogie; and Botanique. Augustin Legrand (1765 -... More about Petite Bibliothèque Portative
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 about Early Children's Books and Their Illustration
Chelsea: (Southernwood Press, c. 1915). Small quarto. (23)ff. One of thirty copies printed on handmade paper. Illustrated throughout by Josephine Winser. The drawings illustrate popular nursery rhymes, including Humpty Dumpty, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Jack & Jill, and Sing a Song of Sixpence. Children take center stage in these depictions... More about Nursery Rhymes Set to New Tunes
NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1964. Square octavo. 86pp. First edition. Inscribed by the author/illustrator, Hardie Gramatky, on the title page. The first sequel to Gramatky's first children's book, 1939's Little Toot, tells the story of the adventurous tugboat's journey across the Atlantic to London. There he encounters London Bridge, the..... More about Little Toot on the Thames
London: J. Harris, 1806. 32mo. (16)ff. First edition, Moon's fourth state with 1806 date on front wrapper, but with SMC initials on the earliest-state engraved dedication page. Illustrated with fifteen hand-colored copperplate engravings. According to Moon, this is the most significant children's book published by Harris, and surely one of... More about The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard, and Her Dog
Boston: David R. Godine, (1981). Oblong quarto. 29pp. First edition. Inscribed on the title-page by the author/artist: "Merry Christmas from Ilse Plume & the Spirit of Befana!!" With fourteen full-page color plates. This is Plume's second published work; her first book received the Caldecott Honor in 1981. Minor edgewear and... More about The Story of Befana: An Italian Christmas Tale Illustrated and Retold
NY: Simon & Schuster, 1957. Quarto. (64)pp. First edition. A children's favorite, which chronicles the kinetic Eloise's adventures in Paris. Fine in decorated red boards, small bump to bottom corner. Dust jacket shows light edgewear and split starting to head of spine, else fine. More about Eloise in Paris
N.p. n.d. Small quarto. (ii), 36pp. This is a unique pre-production edition of Mary E. Williamson's children's book, which seems to never have been published. The text is handwritten in black ink, and the illustrations are hand-drawn and colored with ink and paint, all on boards. The story follows an..... More about The Story of Annabelle Ant
