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: Heinemann, 1912. Quarto. xxx, 224pp. One of 1450 copies, signed by the artist, Arthur Rackham. Contains thirteen color plates tipped-in on brown paper, and 53 illustrations in black & white. Translated by V.S. Vernon Jones, with an Introduction by G.K. Chesterton. Bound in tan paper-covered boards backed with dark..... More
NY: Frederick A. Stokes Company, (1924). First American edition. One of only 250 copies designated for the United States from a total edition of 2,000. The handsomely produced and lavishly illustrated tale of an old man who builds a square-rigged ship with the help of fairy artisans, and sails through..... More
![Item #32274 Younen Danshi no Tomo [Young Boy's Companion]. Shuzei Miyamoto](https://bromer.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/32274.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1689715447)
Tokyo: Gakushuusha, October 5, 1926. Small octavo. (18)pp. Highly illustrated, with a few pages partitioned into panels suggestive of modern manga. One issue of a monthly periodical aimed toward boys; a parallel series was published for girls. The series of short narratives presented within emphasize aspects of life in contemporary..... More
1935-1938. Signed by the artist, Cherry Barr Jerry. This painting depicts a rosy-cheeked Santa Claus, his mittened-hands as much a part of his red-robed outfit as a staple feature of the puppet's design. Jerry was an artist who explored a variety of media throughout her career, developing from a position..... More
1935-1938. Signed by the artist, Cherry Barr Jerry. This painting depicts a rosy-cheeked young boy in a blue-collared shirt and patterned overalls. Jerry worked with a variety of media throughout her career, including embroidery, charcoal sketching, and other forms of decorative art. Her efforts grew out of her role as..... More
1935-1938. Two original paintings, signed by the artist, Cherry Barr Jerry. This set of paintings vividly depicts Punch and Judy in their traditional style: rosy cheeks, mitten-hands, and large eyes and mouths. The artist worked with a variety of media throughout her career, delving into embroidery, sketches with charcoal, and..... More
1935-1938. Two original paintings, signed by the artist, Cherry Barr Jerry. The paintings show puppets, with chubby cheeks and mitten-hands, though these skew toward racist stereotypes in their depiction of African-American characters. Jerry was an art instructor in Racine, Wisconsin, during the Great Depression as part of the Works Progress..... More
NY: Wood, Samuel, & Sons, (1823). 24mo. 68pp. Small engravings throughout provide visual references for each stage of this young reader's primer. The primer's front matter includes a reprinting of its trademark, as issued by the Southern District of New York, as well as a preface written by the publisher..... 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
Porto: Edições Marânus, 1958. Octavo, 98pp. First edition. Illustrated throughout with line drawings by Júlio Resende. Inscribed by Losa on title page to noted Portuguese journalist, Acúrsio Pereira, and dated "1 Dez(embro) 1957." This tale of a dachshund who loses his luxe living situation and experiences a succession of misadventures..... More
Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing Co., 1936. Quarto. (7)ff. Each sheet with color punch-outs than can be folded to create three-dimensional dog-figures, among which are such eminent and storied breeds as the dachshund, the Boston terrier, the Scottie, and the whippet. Bound in self-wrappers, with pictorial upper cover. Some edgewear, general..... More
NY: Simon and Schuster, 1971. First edition, first printing. Inscribed by the author and signed by the illustrator at the front flyleaf. A young-adult retelling of two fugitive slaves in the mid-19th century. The dedicatory statements after the title page elucidate the historical threads binding the author to the Crafts'..... More
Bethseda, MD: John S. Mayfield, 1958. Small quarto. (8)pp. One of 100 copies, signed at the colophon by the author. Title-page illustration with additions of hand-colored highlights and glitter. Fred C. Kelly was a newspaperman, humorist, and the official biographer of the Wright brothers. Staple-bound in printed wrappers. Slightly toned..... 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
(NY): Harper & Row, (1963). Four 48mo. volumes, variously paginated. First editions. Titles include: A Christmas Stocking Story; Angels & Berries & Candy Canes; A Firefly in a Fir Tree; and The Night Before Christmas (this with co-author Clement C. Moore). A complete set of festive tales by Knight, whose..... More
Sudbury, MA: Kurbel Books, 1988. (20)pp., accordionfold. One of 250 copies. Panorama with initials illuminated in gold and colors by E. Helene Sherman, and illustrated with a United States postage stamp of St. Francis. Layout by Robert E. Massmann. Bound by Bela and Mariana Blau in full red leather over..... More
(Browerville, Minn.): Ox Head Press, 1992. 64mo. First edition of this short story. One of 450 copies. A rapturous play of verb tenses. Bound in white wrappers with gilt-stamped titling. Housed in a black paper chemise with silver label. Mild wear to chemise, else fine. More
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
Paris: Marcilly, (c. 1820). Six vols. 64mo, near miniature. 122; 125; 126; 127; 126; 118. Each volume sports finely detailed and deeply printed engravings throughout, to provide the young reader with visual delights as they read short stories on a variety of subject. The titles included are: Souvenirs d'un Petit..... More
London (but Hertfordshire): John Marshall (but Anne and Peter Stockham), 1801 (but 1976). One of forty-eight copies. In this "cabinet," there are two miniature books and a collection of twenty-eight hand-colored engravings of the objects listed in the books. The books are bound in full leather, one maroon and one..... More
New Britain, CT: REM Miniatures, 1980. (5)ff. One of 500 copies. A foldout panorama, with flaps which unfold further to reveal changing pictures. Based on the early moralizing "Metamorphoses" or "Harlequinades," but with new, hand-colored illustrations. This one in particular is adapted from the 1852 edition "Improved and Published" by..... 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
