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 ...
Read more about Children's Books and Toys
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
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
Barcelona: Editorial Maravilla, 1941. Quarto. 6ff., + 5 inserted movable illustrations, each with intact and functional pull-tabs that set butterfly wings alight, swing the arms of princesses and moths, and send bells to chiming. Matched by quaint woodcuts at the title page, edition statement, and start and end of the..... 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
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
1986. Original ink designs for an alphabet formed from cats, signed and dated by the artist. Blegvad was a prolific children's book artist, whose atmospheric ink drawings are often compared to Gorey and Sendak. His illustrations graced more than 100 picture books, of which the best known is probably Mary..... More
(c. 1930s). A collection of sixteen vibrant watercolor designs by Vernon Grant for an apparently unpublished children's book called "The Two Elves." Grant was one of the most popular illustrators of the mid-20th century, and his distinctive whimsical style influenced many of his contemporaries, including Walt Disney. Grant is perhaps..... More
(N.p. c. 1940). Oblong small quarto. (9)ff., illustrated on rectos only. A handmade children's counting book featuring animals in parent-child relationships. Each family group increases in number as the reader pages through the book, starting with one mother and one baby turtle and ending with a mother otter and her..... More
1935-1938. Six original paintings, all signed by the artist, Cherry Barr Jerry. 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..... More
England: (c. 1957). Folio. (44)ff. An astonishing manuscript, featuring fourteen original drawings and gouache paintings mounted on heavy gray paper. They depict a range of toys and their contexts, from the familiar teddy bear to baubles from as far afield as Javanese shadow puppets and Hopi Indian dolls. The text..... More
(Moscow: 1929). Six pen-and-ink drawings colored with watercolor, with an expressionistic look, each measuring 7 3/4 by 6 1/2 inches. These delicate, stylized illustrations are tinted with shades of orange, purple, and green. The first drawing has the title and illustrator’s name, Ausbrey, below it in Russian. The images recount..... 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
(Germany): S & C, (c. 1920). Three die-cut figures: two Santas and a Christmas Tree. Each figure stands 5 3/4" high, with an easel back and fold at the bottom. The two Santa figures are holding a doll, teddy bear, jester, and Christmas bush, and one is in his traditional..... More
Amsterdam: Van Arum, (c. 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
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
Paris: Impie. Lender, 1866. Set of paper dolls, containing two figures, two wooden stands, twelve double-sided outfits, and four hairstyles, all printed lithographically. "Psyché", created in 1835, was one of the very first paper dolls included in the eponymous magazine. It was also sold as a paper toy in its..... 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
(Flansham): Pear Tree Press, (1920). Octavo. 25pp. This collection of short children's poems is heavily illustrated with wood engravings by Stuart Guthrie, son of Pear Tree Press founder James Guthrie. The six full-page illustrations and fourteen smaller images used as head- and tailpieces are printed in four colors: blue, green..... More
Paris: Lemercier, (1867). Four panel, accordion-folding peepshow of the 1867 Exposition Universelle, held on the Champ-de-Mars in Paris. The front-face shows a bird's-eye view of the exposition complex as seen from the north bank of the Seine. Beneath the image, the title is written in five languages, along with the..... More
London: Warren Editions, 1981. One of fifty copies. An enchanting peep show by the well-known children's author and illustrator Harold Jones. Comprised of six layered panels, plus the illustrated front panel bearing the title and viewing aperture. Looking into the viewing aperture reveals a glimpse deep into a forest filled..... More
(Berlin: Oscar Michaelis, 1896). Printed by S. Schottlaender, Breslau. A colorful telescopic view of the Industrial Exhibition’s main hall, comprised of six bright, chromolithographed panels attached on the sides by accordion-folded paper. The front panel shows the outside of the hall, and the viewer looks through a small hole to..... More
Boston: Phillips, Sampson & Co., 1856. Small quarto. 67pp., printed one side only. A collection of verse, accompanied by lively silhouette engravings. This is one of several children's books published as a partnership between Phillips, Sampson & Co. and translator "Cousin Fannie" in the 1850s. In advertising Red Beard's Stories..... More
Cooperstown: H. & E. Phinney, 1834. 24mo. 31pp. The first Phinney edition of this familiar tale. With ten woodcuts, very neat indeed, and three more on the yellow wrappers. Previous young owners' names to front wrapper, wear to extremities, and some foxing to interior, else a near fine copy. More
