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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(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
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
London: Grant & Griffith, 1852. Oblong quarto. (5)ff. Five hand-colored plates illustrate comical urchins demonstrating the senses, including the rare “Seeing” plate, which shows two boys peering into a box-shaped peep-show at a fair while the proprietor says, “Now then gents, open yr eyes, blow yr precious noses, and don’t..... More
Paris: Berger-Levrault, (1915). Quarto. (14)ff. One of 200 copies printed on Arches. Contains eight full-page pochoir plates and several vignettes depicting the experiences of French children Jacqueline, Guillaume, and their friends. The prints and dedication are signed with the initials S. B., but the author/illustrator is unknown; the dedication page..... More
Paris: La Renaissance du Livre, 1922. Oblong quarto. (13)ff., interleaved with twelve pochoir plates. First edition. A poignant fable about the escapades of a magpie—whose body is made of a pinecone—and three little pinecone chicks as they leave the mantel of the fireplace on which they live to venture out..... More
(N.p. Jo Anna Poehlmann, 1996). (55)pp., frenchfold. One of 100 copies. This ABC is filled with twenty-six terms for the cigar afficionado. Illustrated with cigar labels corresponding to the letters of the alphabet. "F is for full-bodied." "H is for hand-rolled." Bound in dried tobacco leaves over boards. When the..... More
NY: Thomas Nelson, 1928. Oversized proof plate from Willy Pogany's Mother Goose, illustrating the numbers one through five and a child's finger in the mouth of a caught fish. Below the image is the rhyming text, whose simple, clever meter assists a young learner in remembering their numbers. Plate shows..... More
Cambridge, MA: Pomegranate Press, 1972. Broadside. About 300 copies. A striking presentation of this fanciful poem, silkscreened in turquoise, purple and orange by Karyl Klopp. Very fine. (Measures 25 inches wide by 19 inches tall). More
Berkeley: Poole Press, 1992. (17)ff. One of 75 copies. Signed by Maryline Poole Adams, the illustrator, printer, and binder. An ABC book showing what baby Alice can do (J, jounce; K, kvetch; L, laugh; and so on). Each page has a wood engraving and text in either red or blue..... More
Paris: Nouvelle Librairie de la Jeunesse, (c. 1900). Quarto panorama of six chromolithographed pop-up scenes. They carry the reader through an exotic hunt, in which cowboys and local turbaned attendants pursue and slay lions and tigers, and eventually overcome an ambush by native tribespeople. The book's three-dimensional structure adds to..... More
London: Bancroft & Co, (c. 1960). Quarto. 7, (1)pp. Tri-fold pictorial boards, with lower cover unfolding into a table-top pop-up image of the many animals boarding Noah's Ark. The scene has a humorous flair; a fox plays chess with a stork and a panther, a male crocodile smokes a pipe..... More
(1968). An uncommon die-cut pop-up card depicting a nativity scene set in ancient Bethlehem, beneath palm trees and a starry night sky. Cattle, goats, sheep, and an elephant surround the manger, as the magi and others bring gifts. Presiding over the scene is an angel carrying a banner proclaiming "Gloria..... More
Philadelphia: David McKay, (1929). Octavo. 225pp. First edition, printed before the limited UK edition, which Potter used to establish copyright in England. According to Linder, Potter originally wanted the book to only be printed in America, since “she felt that the stories were ‘too personal—too autobiographical'” to publish in her..... More
(France: H. Rousseau, c. 1846-8). A set of three hand-colored wooden jigsaw puzzles lithographed by J. Froment and measuring 13 by 10 inches (33x25cm). Each puzzle is illustrated with six portraits of European rulers, in full regalia, with detailed jewels, orders, decorations, and crowns. Among the countries represented are Portugal..... More
(N.p. c. 1900). Boxed set of two puzzles, each featuring nine silhouette images formed from four blocks apiece. Each puzzle has a corresponding guide on paper against blue card. The first puzzle depicts well-known and well-loved scenes from Johann David Wyss' tale, with the silhouettes a marvelous format for presenting..... More
Van Nuys, CA: Barbara Raheb, 1982. (27)pp. A diminutive coloring book. Mint in red wrappers with an illustrated, hand-colored label. Together with the tiniest box of Crayola crayons imaginable. The crayons, which can be removed from the box, are 3/8 inch long. (1 by 3/4; 24x19mm). More
(Vienna: c. 1810). Single folio sheet, on which is printed twenty rebus cards, to be cut out. Each card has a very fine hand-colored stipple engraving. A few examples are: a man bowing before a statue of Cupid, a sunset, three children sledding, and Napoleon sitting on an upper-case “B.”..... More
