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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New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1943. Twenty-six miniature volumes, each measuring 3 by 3 inches (77x77mm), all housed within a 9 1/2-inch square box with printed upper cover. Each book has a brightly colored block letter on the upper cover, which is comprised of a piece of thick board, and..... More
Cincinnati, OH: Mosaic Press, 1981. (64)pp. Signed by the printer, Miriam Irwin. Line drawings by Frank Campione capture the childhood wonder for reading evoked in Campbell's retelling of her experiences in the genre. Bound in full green leatherette with unrecorded variant gilt stamping, perhaps a test-run for the publisher or..... More
Cincinnati, OH: Mosaic Press, 1979. (48)pp. Signed by the printer and the adapter of Dow's original text, Miriam Irwin. Originally written in 1908, the tale tells of an anthropomophic and empathic doll's affection for her young owner. Bound in pink cloth, gilt-stamped. Some rubs to corners, else near fine. (1..... More
Cincinnati, OH: Mosaic Press, 1983. (32)pp. Signed by the printer, Miriam Irwin. A handy and sagacious compendium of Fraemb's illustrated one-liners, which for a time appeared weekly in the Philadelphia Enquirer. Bound in black cloth over boards, stamped in white. Fine. (15/16 by 3/4; 24x19mm). More
Cincinnati, OH: Mosaic Press, 1980. (64)pp. Signed by the printer, Miriam Irwin. A endearing and lyrical narrative of the exploits of the titular heroine. Bound in pink cloth, stamped in white. A scarcer Mosaic title. Fainest rubs, else fine. (1 1/8 by 7/8; 29x22mm). More
Cincinnati, OH: Mosaic Press, 1994. (48)pp. Signed by the printer, Miriam Irwin. A charming tour through various toy theaters. Bound in brown leatherette with cover design stamped in gilt and metallic blue. Fine. (15/16 by 3/4; 24x19mm). More
Cincinnati: Mosaic Press, 1983. (48)pp. One of 380 copies signed by Miriam Irwin, the publisher, who also wrote the introduction. Four poems from "A Child's Garden of Verses," with line illustrations by Romilda Dilley, who has also signed this copy. Fine in sky-blue leather with title and picture stamped in..... More
West Hatfield: Pennyroyal Press, 1982. Two folio volumes. 150pp.; xxv, 160pp. Each one of 350 copies signed by Barry Moser. Alice is illustrated with 75 wood engravings by Moser, and Through the Looking-Glass contains 95 engravings by Moser. Some of the engravings are full-page plates, while others are beautifully integrated..... More
Amsterdam: (c. 1925). Small octavo. (15)pp. With eight full-page illustrations, printed in orange and black. At the back of the volume are a head and two legs set to rotate on brass rivets; when unfolded, they align with the torso on the upper cover to create the illusion of a...... More
Brussels: Libraries de l'Office de Publicité, (c. 1850). Six hand-colored, movable double-engravings; one engraving is half-pasted from the top, another from the bottom, and their remaining halves are pasted together to create a flap that the reader may flip down to see one image and up to see the other..... 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
(Germany: c. 1820). Octavo. Thirteen pen- and wash-color drawings, each tipped in to a separate page. Beginning with the title page, on which "Titelbild" is inscribed within a frame, the artist composes a tableau onto each leaf, at the center of which are a group of children engaged in some..... More
London: Dean & Co., (c. 1960). Three 12mo rag books, + two sets of original artwork. Artwork heavily annotated and in full color. The three published books are My Train Set, Our Nursery, and My Dolls; the artwork, rendered directly on boards, applies to the latter two. The pencil notes..... 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
(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
Chicago: Ideal School Supply Co., (c. 1930). Octavo. 10 loose sheets, along with instruction slip and original brass fasteners. Each sheet provides the young designer with an animal in parts, which can then be hinged together to create a paper doll. The animals range from the more domestic cow 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
Drexel Hill, PA: Bell Publishing, (c. 1945). Oblong octavo. Second edition. Illustrated throughout in color. Includes six die-cut color dolls, which play a key part in the interactive element of this unique movable book. The story centers upon six children from various European countries, all of whom are on their..... More
NY: Simon and Schuster, 1958. First edition. Inscribed by the artist, Marian Parry, at the front flyleaf. Parry's many line drawings bring whimsy to Winsor's equally fantastical, intergalactic takes on classic Mother Goose tales. For example, Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep, and "the radar has failed to find..... More
Flansham: Greenleaf Press, (1915). 16mo. (16)pp. Inscribed, "With best wishes from the folk at Flansham. Xmas 1915," and illustrated with nine tipped-in engravings. The publication and illustrations were done by Stuart, Robin, and John Guthrie, the sons of James Guthrie of the Pear Tree Press. This is the first book..... 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
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
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
