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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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
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
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
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
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
London: Frederick Warne and Co., 1905. First edition. Potter's comforting tale of a young girl who finds both her pocket handkerchief and a friend in the maternal hedgehog, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle. Color illustrations throughout offer agrarian quaintness paired with pastoral adventure, a combination common to Potter's stories. Benjamin Bunny and Peter..... More
Boston: L. Prang & Co., 1863, 1864. 32mo. (24)pp. A set of twenty-four color lithograph cards depicting various hummingbirds, which are labeled according to their scientific names. It is an apparently complete set - part of a larger campaign of similar cards issued by Prang showing a range of birds..... More
Barcelona: Editorial Vallès, S. L., 1959. 119, (9)pp. Fourteenth edition. A rather rare child's breviary, printed in Spanish, with occasional full-page illustrations throughout depicting daily activities proper for a good Catholic child, as well as the various rites and sacraments of the Church. Bound in blue pebbled cloth over boards..... More
London: J. & J. Wood, c. 1845. Octavo. (8)pp. (first and last text pages glued to wrapper). With cover illustration and two frontispiece engravings by W.D. Hornsby. This primer was issued as part of Wood's Juvenile Library, and contains two pages of alphabets and numbers, followed by 26 short lessons..... 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
London: Heinemann, 1912. Quarto. xxx, 224pp. First trade edition. 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. Save for the smaller trim size, the trade edition is identical to the signed, limited..... More
London: Harrap, (1934). Octavo. 45pp. One of 410 copies signed by Rackham. With four color plates, numerous black & white illustrations, and pictorial endpapers. A pleasantly bright copy, fine in gilt-titled vellum wrappers. T.e.g. In slightly worn original slipcase with printed label. (Latimore & Haskell, p. 71). More
London/NY: William Heineman/Doubleday Page, (1907). Quarto. xi, 162pp., + 12ff. plates. One of 1,100 copies. Because Rackham was away from London while this book was in production, most copies of the deluxe edition went unsigned; however, this copy has been signed by Rackham on the limitation page. Contains thirteen large..... More
London & Philadelphia: Heinemann/Lippincott, (1920). Quarto. 110pp. One of 625 copies, signed by the artist. This copy bears an original pen-and-ink drawing by Rackham below the limitation statement, also signed. The drawing depicts the king and queen with their infant daughter. Illustrated with one tipped-in color plate and numerous silhouettes..... More
