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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NY: Bouillon-Sanders & Chopp, (1926). Quarto. (16)pp. Illustrated throughout in color and black & white, and in a bright orange binding featuring the main character, Willie, with fully movable arms. A "Willie Wait a Minute," who is always postponing his responsibilities to play just a minute longer, is able to... More
(N.p. Michael Mar Press, 1977). Small quarto. (16)ff. One of twelve copies, produced by hand 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... More
London: Methuen, (1926). First edition. One of 200 copies printed on hand-made paper, signed by Milne and Shepard. Milne's whimsical and beloved poems of his son, Christophe Robin and his bear, Pooh, accompanied by Shepard's familiar illustrations. Bound in quarter cloth with orange paper over boards and paper label. Second... More
London: Methuen, 1926. First edition. Limited to 350 copies printed on handmade paper and signed by Milne and Shepard. With all of the well-known and well-loved illustrations and a fold-out map of Pooh's and Christopher Robin's territory, which appeared in the ordinary edition as endpapers. Bound in quarter dark-blue cloth... More
London: Methuen, (1927). First edition. This famous collection of children’s verses, featuring Milne’s son, Christopher Robin, and his bear, is illustrated throughout with Ernest H. Shepard’s whimsical drawings. Signed at a later date on the title page by Shepard. Handsomely bound by Bayntun-Rivière in deep red morocco, with gilt ruled... More
(Germany: c. 1820s). A miniature globe covered with varnished paper showing the continents, outlined in color by hand, accompanied by a 27-panel miniature folding panorama. The panels show inhabitants of different countries from around the world in characteristic costumes, hand-colored and labeled in English, German, and French. Many of the... More
Guben: F. Fechner, (n.d.). Four 64mo volumes. 29; 30; 29; 29pp. Alternate publisher given as A. & Joseph Myers, London. All volumes begin with full color frontispiece, another full color engraving accompanies the start of each interior story. Fenelon's classic tales include "The Meeting of the Animals to Choose a.... More
NY: John H. Eggers, 1917. Eight volumes, 12pp. each (wrappers not included). Replete with illustrations using an orange and green color palette, the set consists of "The Chocolate Man," "Old Mother Hubbard," "The Gorgon's Head," "Child's Garden of Verse," "Ali Baba," "East of the Sun and West of the Moon,"... More
Buffalo, NY: Breed, Butler & Co. 1863. 61pp. From the second of six sets of miniature books for children published by Breed, Butler, and Co. in the 1860s. Each set, smaller than the last, comprises six volumes bound in colorful embossed and gilt-stamped cloth. The stories are all written by... More
Buffalo, NY: Breed, Butler & Co. 1863. 61pp. A grandmother tells her grandson the story of a vain little girl in order to comfort him after an accident. Bound in gilt-decorated purple cloth. Covers faded and slightly rubbed, else a fine copy. A.e.g. With the signature of a youthful owner... More
Paris: Michel Bertrand, (1946). Quarto. (10)ff. A collection of wise, wry poems for children, brightly illustrated in bold red, blue, green, and yellow by Boucard Moinet. The illustrations depict scenes of children at play: spinning around on a carousel, sailing boats on a pond in the park, and waving at... More
c. 1835. Movable figure of a black Arabian horse mounted to a hand-colored landscape backdrop that measures 10 by 8 3/4 inches (251x196mm). The horse is articulated using a series of metal pins that allow it to be manipulated into various positions. Accompanied by eight interchangeable rider figures, all of... More
Tours: Maison Alfred Mame et Fils, (c. 1920). Quarto. 127pp., + (16)ff. One of sixteen copies, with a signed original gouache for one of the sixteen color plates by Neziere, opposite p. 63. Highly colored and caricature-like in style, the painting illustrates "L'Ane et le Petit Chien (The Little Dog... More
(Denmark): Skandinavisk Bogforlag, (c. 1938). Quarto. (30)pp. First edition. Illustrated throughout in color and black & white. A Danish guide to the craft of printing with carved potatoes, which also includes examples of stories illustrated with potato prints. Instructions show how to carve the stamps and create characters, scenes, and... More
Amsterdam: Wed. G. A. Diederichs en Zoon and Mindermann, (c. 1820). Four paper packets with thirty-six paper figures. The figures are cut from laid paper so that a lantern shining through the cut-out portions would project the image onto a wall or sheet. The largest packet, containing six sheets, was... More
(c. 1830). Optical toy with forty-two hand-colored engraved slides. The Polyorama Panoptique was popular from the 1820s through the 1850s as a small-scale version of Daguerre's famous Diorama. The toy consists of a wooden box attached to a paper concertina, which can be adjusted as needed, and a lens in... More
Lausanne: F. Payot; Vevey, Loertscher and Jacot-Guillarmod, (1889). Oblong octavo. (24) ff. A panorama which opens out to show a colorful wedding procession of musicians, vintners, farmworkers, and costumed villagers. The Roman goddesses of the harvest, Ceres and Pales, follow their attendants in ox-drawn chariots, and Bacchus' chariot is pulled... More
Boston: Small Maynard & Co. (c. 1910s). Oblong octavo. (8)pp. A die-cut paper doll book, one of four in the Bye-Bye series. The front cover is printed like a quilt, and is cut short to show three paper dolls tucked into the bed. Each of the dolls is perforated at... More
Amsterdam: Van Arum, (ca. 1810-20). Square 12mo. 62pp. The title translates as "Benevolent Louise, the girl with six forms, an entertaining gift for girls, with seven colored moveable plates." Each chapter tells of Louise as someone different, for example "Louise as a nun," or "Louise in a ball-gown." The rear... More
(Germany: c. 1850). Very rare boxed set, consisting of two identical 7-inch-tall female paper dolls, both two-sided. With eight brightly colored costumes, also two-sided, and eight hats and hairstyle pieces. The wardrobe includes outfits for all occasions: a practical brown-striped skirt and warm lace-trimmed cloak, a stately crimson damask gown... More
(England: c. 1900). A set of nine hand-drawn and aquatinted costumes, each matted separately, with a delicately featured lady's head that transfers between the costumes by fitting into a slot at the neck. The costumes include a riding habit flowing down the side of a horse, outdoor wear, and dresses... More
Milan: Ulrico Hoepli, 1945. Folio. (14)ff., two of which fold out, + (7) strips. Intact and unused paper activity book designed by Italian artist Edina Altara. Includes a wide variety of colorful paper toys and dolls: an illusionist, finger-puppet dancing girls, a three-dimensional carousel, a regiment of soldiers, birds and... More
Akron, OH: Saalfield Pub. Co. 1933. Oblong folio. (6)ff. First edition. Intact and unused paper doll book of a fully-stocked grocery store. Includes 206 perforated pieces printed on heavy card stock. The grocery store is well-stocked with a detailed and thorough selection of foodstuffs: sweets, produce, baking ingredients, meats, and... More
Mainz: Jos. Scholz, (c. 1890). Four stand-up scenes with forty-five die-cut paper figures, which can be used to stage the fairy tale of Snow White. The pieces include thirteen two-sided figures for our major players, including Snow White, the Seven Dwarves, Prince Charming, and the Evil Queen; six additional one-sided... More
(c. 1810). A collection of seventeen hand-drawn watercolor costume designs for a paper doll, plus one additional unfinished design in pencil. The costumes, complete with headpieces, wigs, and other accessories, are well designed and skillfully colored, giving this handmade set a polished and professional look. The costumes are laid into... More
