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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NY: Charles E. Graham & Co., (1914). Small quarto. (32)pp. Number one of the Donald Dare Series. This juvenile sports book, illustrated with five full-page line drawings, recounts the story of Donald Dare leading his Ashland School team to victory in the championships. A short retelling of Sleeping Beauty, entitled... More
Melbourne: Sign of the Rabbit, 1905. Small quarto. (32)pp. Extremely rare first edition. Illustrated with sixteen woodcut illustrations in the Japanese style, six of which are double-page spreads. All but four minor illustrations are hand-initialed in ink by the contributing artist. Set opposite the illustrations, the letterpress-printed verse is a.... More
(London): Theatre Royal, 1829. Broadside playbill for Wednesday, Jan. 21, 1829 at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, advertising "a musical piece called The Sublime & Beautiful," followed by "The Farce of the Invincibles," and a "New Comic Pantomime" called "Harlequin and Little Red Riding Hood; or the Wizard and the... More
London: Cyril Beaumont, 1918. Octavo. (iii), 16, (1+16)ff., frenchfold. From an edition of fifty copies, this is one of ten printed on chine and signed by the artist. This is the story of Little Red Riding Hood, with woodcut text and illustrations by Belgian artist Edgard Tijtgat. Sixteen illustrations, hors... More
(Middle Falls, NY: The Toy Works), 1979. A cotton beanbag of a smiling pink pig, measuring seven inches from toe to eartip, and wearing a brown tweed jacket. In back, the turned-up vent shows that the jacket is lined to match his tasteful goldenrod bow-tie. This is one of five... More
(Middle Falls, NY: The Toy Works), 1979. A cotton beanbag of a smiling pink pig, measuring seven inches from toe to eartip, and wearing a brown tweed jacket. In back, the turned-up vent shows that the jacket is lined to match his tasteful goldenrod bow-tie. This is one of five... More
Cumberland, MD: Hobby House Press, (1986). Oblong quarto. 236pp. This is an out-of-print, invaluable reference for any collector of children’s material. Illustrated throughout with color and black & white photographs, Whitton’s informative text is both thorough and accurate, with a superb index. Although primarily a reference for paper toys and..... More
Berlin: Alfred Holz, (1953). Oblong folio. 16pp. First German edition, translated from the Russian by Katharina Holz. Hand-lithographed after the author/artist Jewgenij Tscharuschin’s illustrations from the original Soviet edition. Contains six full-page color plates and several smaller pictures of baby wolves, wildcats, bears, and other forest creatures. Playful illustrations by..... More
London: Cobden-Sanderson Ltd., 1935. Octavo. 470pp. One of two hundred copies. Signed by the illustrator, Rex Whistler, on the half-title page. Ten full-page illustrations of memorable scenes, such as the Emperor wearing his "new clothes" and the Little Mermaid gazing upon the Prince's ship. Smaller black & white illustrations scattered... More
London: Faber & Faber, (1933). First edition. One of only 60 copies printed on English hand-made paper, signed by the author. With engraved title page, three tinted full-page plates and black & white headpieces by Rex Whistler. Collects seven of de la Mare's fantasy stories for children. A brilliant copy... More
N.p. c. 1920s. Octavo. (1)ff. Leaf excised from an unknown book, inscribed to Richard Vernon Johnson from his sister Marian. The leaf is also signed by the editors Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith, her sister. Kate Douglas Wiggin is best known for writing Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, but..... More
Original artwork, signed by the artist, Tony Tallarico. Depicting the letters A, B, and C against an orange background, this vibrant piece juxtaposes the realistic style of the letter examples (an apple, a ball, and a cat) with the playful style of the letters themselves, which have been enhanced by... More
Two modern posters, with alphabet themes, containing: "Jerry Pallotta's Alphabet Books." Watertown, MA, Charlesbridge Publishing, (early 1990s). An advertising poster for artist Jerry Pallotta's alphabet books, measuring 24 1/2 by 19 1/4 inches (622x489mm) and showing the full cover for "The Extinct Alphabet Book," published in 1993. A list of... More
(France): Ceux de la Résistance, 1944. Folio. (57)pp. A children's picture book that follows two demons who escape Hell, help a battalion of French Forces of the Interior (F.F.I.), and make trouble for the Nazis. Eventually the demons and their companion, a small flame, assist the F.F.I. in the liberation..... More
