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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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
London: Methuen, (1927). First edition. Number two of 200 copies, printed on handmade paper and signed by A.A. Milne and Ernest H. Shepard. This famous collection of children's verses, featuring Milne's son Christopher Robin and his bear, is illustrated throughout with Shepard's whimsical drawings. Bound in quarter cloth with orange..... More
London: Methuen, 1926. First edition. One of 350 copies printed on handmade paper and signed by A.A. Milne and Ernest H. Shepard. With all of the well-known and well-loved illustrations and a fold-out map of Pooh and Christopher Robin's territory, which appeared in the ordinary edition as endpapers. Bound in..... 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
Valparaiso, IN: Sandlin's Books & Bindery, 1992. (56)pp. One of 200 copies signed by the designer and illustrator, Linda Sandlin, the printer, Jeff Sandlin, and the binder, C. Gloyeske. This clever ABC book incorporates 26 book terms, most of which show samples, including pastepapers, marbled papers, headband silk, and vellum..... More
Santa Cruz: Good Book Press, 1987. (20)ff. One of 200 copies. Signed by Peter Thomas at colophon. Nursery rhymes printed on colored pages, with Donna Thomas' sprightly line drawings. Very fine in yellow paper over boards. This is one of the most whimsical of the Thomas' books. (3 by 2..... More
Philadelphia: H.C. Peck & Theo. Bliss, (c. 1850). 191pp. Illustrated with engravings throughout, each activity receiving its own full-page image. A charming book encouraging the reader to physical exertion. It describes such expected activities as archery, skating, and marbles, along with the perhaps unexpected pastimes of painting vases, the Aeolian..... More
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1966. xvii, 42pp. One of 375 copies. Various texts by Shakespeare with twelve silhouettes by Paul Konewka. Fine in burgundy cloth over boards, faintly rubbed. (2 5/16 by 1 15/16; 60x50mm). More
(Essen): Hans Gerd Goldschmidt, 1979. 124pp. One of 500 copies. A selection of fables, rendered in German and illustrated with eight woodcuts. Bound in gilt-stamped brown leather with a printed dust wrapper and paper slipcase. Very fine. (2 1/4 by 1 5/8; 57x41mm). More
Jamaica: Minia Press, 1943. (120)pp. Liberally illustrated with Charles Bennett's nineteenth-century style drawings. Faint rubbing to corners and slight bend to lower board, else near fine in blue leatherette with a turtle stamped in gold. (2 by 1 5/8; 50x42mm). More
Buffalo, NY: Breed, Butler & Co., 1863. 64 pp. One of six titles in the second series of miniatures authored by popular children's writer Barrow under the noms de plume Aunt Laura and Aunt Fanny. Noted by Bradbury as "high spots in any miniature book collection," the volumes offer children's..... More
(Sussex): Silver Thimble Books, 1983. (48)pp. One of 150 copies signed by Gordon Murray, the designer and publisher. A passage from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with four full-page and three double-page illustrations after John Tenniel, the original illustrator of "Alice" and Through the Looking-Glass. The illustrations are handcolored by Murray..... More
(Mill Valley): Sunflower Press, 1985. (32)ff. One of 85 copies signed by the artist-printer, Carol Cunningham. An ABC of small outdoor creatures and plants, with hand-colored illustrations. The book begins: "These small creatures and plants have their nautral habitat in the outdoors, although some may occasionally find their way inside..... More
Van Nuys: Hoffman, Richard J., 1988. 82pp. One of 250 copies signed by the printer. Text first published in 1921. The type ornaments chosen by Hoffman are arranged chronologically by designer (Garamond, Granjon, Rogers) and printed in color. The introduction refers to the printer's late friend, who insisted that the..... More
Sudbury, MA: Kurbel Books, 1984. (20)pp. accordionfold. Panorama with initials illuminated in gold and colors by E. Helene Sherman, and illustrated with six Italian postage stamps showing the Saint's life. Translated by Rev. Joseph L. Curran. Layout by Robert E. Massman. Bound by Bela and Mariana Blau in full blue..... More
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1963. 70pp. One of 310 copies signed by the author/publisher. Fascinating story of witches and magic. Very fine. (2 3/8 by 1 15/16; 60x48mm.). More
Paris: C. Marpon et E. Flammarion, (c. 1880). Two volumes. 176, 248pp. An important miniature and a remarkable early example of fine photographic reduction. Light rubbing to half-leather and marbled boards, else fine. T.e.g. (Welsh 4228; Bondy, p. 97). (2 7/8 by 2 3/16; 74x56mm). More
(New Britain, CT: Robert E. Massman, n.d.). (34)pp. From an edition of 300 copies, this is one of an unstated few produced as a scroll. On each panel, Sukie, a miniature French poodle, poses alongside a hand-colored letter. Scroll finished with a red dowel and red ribbon, and held in..... 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
Orinda, CA: Shoestring Press, 1998. 50pp. One of 50 copies. Signed by Anna M. Morrison at the colophon. An illustrated anthology of nursery rhymes, designed and printed in red and black by Philip Morrison. Bound in patterned papers backed with blue cloth. Upper cover features an image of a shepherdess..... More
