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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London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, (1912). Quarto. (13)pp. Six full-page color plates, each of which depicts anthropomorphized animals, accompaned by lyricized fables printed on the opposing page. The fables included are "The Fox and the Stork," "The Wolf and the Lamb," "The City Rat and the Country Rat," "The... More
Amsterdam: Cohen Zonen, (n.d.). Octavo. (10)pp. Four full color movable images, and black & white illustrations throughout. The movables illustrate humans and animals taking part in charming circus scenes: monkeys clamber about a ladder, an elephant balances a clown upon its trunk, another well-dressed elephant plays the tuba in front... More
London: Dean & Son, (1857). Small octavo. (9)ff. A very unusual and humorous children's book, with eight movable pages. On each page is a cut-out character, lithographed and hand-colored, standing against a wall. The figure may be moved aside by means of a tab, exposing the revealing shadow he has... More
Esslingen: J. F. Schreiber, (c. 1870s). Small quarto. (7)ff. Illustrated with six full-color movable images. For each, the upper half of the scene is flipped downward to reveal the results of the actions shown in the initial image. Each is titled at the top and captioned by a four-line poem... More
London: Dean & Son, (n.d.). Small quarto. 8ff., printed one side only. Eight pages with full hand-colored images—sometimes more than one to a page—all of which bear movable features. These are manipulated through paper tabs toward the bottom of the illustration. Pulling a tab back and forth causes Mother Hubbard's... More
London: Dean & Son, (1859). Small quarto. (8)ff. Eight hand-colored engravings, all with movable parts. These movable images are operated through paper tabs and show the titular old woman with a host of animals as she tries to tame her newly purchased pig. The text of the story lies below... More
Paris: Dean & Son / A. Capendu, (mid-19th century). Small quarto. (8)pp. Contains four full-color movable illustrations, with other whimsical circus imagery throughout the accompanying text. The movable images show clowns balancing on their heads, performing tricks with dogs, and riding donkeys. Copyrighted by Dean & Son, the fascinating illustrations... More
Paris: Capendu, A., (mid-19th centuryt). Quarto. (6)ff. Six color engravings, all with movable elements. The illustrations are each titled and, along with the accompanying text below each plate, show various aspects of life in Beijing as envisioned by the French publisher. These include scenes of music and dancing, family life... More
Berlin: (Carl Schauer, c. 1895). Small quarto. (8)pp. Four full-page color plates with volvelles. Each plate depicts a particular scene—"Das Theater," "Die Menagerie," "Der Bildermann," and "Das karussel"—which is described in lyric verse on the facing page. The turning mechanisms then change a certain portion of the image. For example... More
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
Paris: Capendu, A., (n.d.). Small quarto. (14)pp. Six full-page color plates with movable elements, plus black & white illustrations scattered throughout the text. The movable images are operated through tabs, which bring to life a band of young boys playing tricks on a giant ogre, and the ogre at the... 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
Amsterdam: Van Arum, (ca. 1810-20). Square 12mo. 62pp. The title translates to "Benevolent Louise, the girl with six forms, an entertaining gift for girls, with seven colored movable plates." Each chapter follows Louise in different roles, for example, "Louise as a nun" or "Louise in a ball-gown." The rear paste-down... 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
San Francisco: Golden Gate International Exposition, 1938. Oblong quarto. (10)ff. Uncut paper doll book, inspired by the 1939 World's Fair, the Golden Gate International Exposition. The "Treasure Island" of the title refers to the man-made island in San Francisco Bay on which the Fair was held. This pirate-themed book includes... More
