Norman Rockwell's Hometown.
NY: Windmill Books, 1970. Quarto. (23)ff. Comforting tales of middle America, illustrated by one of the nation's most beloved artists. Near fine in full green cloth and dust wrapper. More
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: Windmill Books, 1970. Quarto. (23)ff. Comforting tales of middle America, illustrated by one of the nation's most beloved artists. Near fine in full green cloth and dust wrapper. More
Banbury: J. G. Rusher, (1814). 64mo. 16pp. Illustrated with engravings throughout, which follow Whittington's rise from poverty to mayoralty, with the help, and occasional troublemaking, of his cat. Bound in paper wrappers, somewhat toned and with a tear along the tail of the spine. Near Fine. More
Banbury: J. G. Rusher, (c. 1820). 32mo. (16)pp. Each page begins with an engraving, followed by a poem, that adds to the cast of characters in Jack's house. Then follows some moral lyrics, likewise accompanied by exemplary images. Bound in blue wrappers with ragged bottom edge, pages unopened, else a...... More
Banbury: J. G. Rusher, (c. 1830). 32mo. 16pp. Replete with etchings showing farmyard animals and children at play and at work. Each etching accompanies rhyming verses bemoaning lacksadasical or arrogant children, praising those who are and humble and hardworking, and humorously describing the quirks of various animal companions. Uncut. Bound..... More
NY: William Edwin Rudge, 1930. Octavo. (65)pp. One of fifty copies, containing an ALS from Ruskin tipped-in to a front flyleaf, and signed by the artist below the caption to the frontispiece. In addition to the frontispiece are five additional engravings by Horvath, all full-page and all evincing a keen..... More
NY: Greenberg Inc., (1926). Octavo. (28)ff. First edition. Each letter of the alphabet, and its accompanying emblematic imagery, is playfully illustrated in blue, magenta, yellow, and black. Most of the letters, in both image and verse, refer to a children's literary tale or rhyme; for example, G is for Gulliver's..... More
NY: The Press Pub. Co., 1902. Octavo. (16)pp. Die-cut shaped book, produced as a giveaway item in association with The World for Sunday, December fourteenth. Illustrated throughout, with line-drawn images and text in green ink on eight pages, and full-color pictures on the other eight, including the pictorial covers. These..... More
(Vejprty, Czechoslovakia: Brauer a Gutberlet, c. 1928). Quarto. 9ff. Color and sepia illustrations on each page by Karla Rohra. A poem, in Czech, about a teddy bear bored with his life in the nursery, who goes off into the world and discovers that his old life was not so bad..... More
(New Britain, CT: Massmann, Robert E., n.d.). (34)pp. From an edition of 300 copies, this is one of an unstated few produced as a scroll. On each panel, Sukie, a miniature French poodle, poses alongside a hand-colored letter. Scroll finished with a red dowel and red ribbon, and held in..... More
(New Britain, CT: Massmann, Robert E., n.d.). (34)pp. One of 300 copies. On each panel, Sukie, a miniature French poodle, poses alongside a hand-colored letter. Bound in pictorial paper wrappers. Lacking slipcase, mild toning, else near fine. (1 3/8 by 1 3/8; 35x35mm). More
(New Britain, CT: Massmann, Robert E., n.d.). (34)pp. One of 300 copies. On each panel, Sukie, a miniature French poodle, poses alongside a hand-colored letter. Bound in pictorial paper wrappers. Lacking slipcase, mild toning, else near fine. (1 3/8 by 1 3/8; 35x35mm). More
Johannesburg: Taurus, 1980. Octavo. 48pp. Text in Afrikaans. Illustrated with line drawings in which cruder illustrations, as if drawn by the fictional title-character, Stanley, appear alongside more stylized images executed by a more practiced hand. Both depict scenes of everyday life that transition to observations of the school boycotts, the..... More
Dallas: Somesuch Press, 1986. (6), (30)pp. One of 175 copies, signed by the printer and designer, Susan Acker, of the Feathered Serpent Press. A new edition of the nineteenth-century book on children's sports and games, Youthful Recreations, reproduced from a copy published by J. Johnson in Philadelphia and owned by..... More
Dordrecht: A. Blusse & Zoon, (c. 1794). 24mo. 24pp., + 8 plates. The engraved plates depict the marvels of a fair and the street performances therein, including dancing, singing, and a magician, all hand-colored. Particular highlights include a hurdy-gurdy man and a magic lantern show featuring a naval battle. The..... More
NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 1945. Original gouache illustration of Thumbelina from Arthur Szyk's illustrated edition of Andersen's Fairy Tales, signed and dated by the artist. In the illustration, Thumbelina, nestled in her walnut shell, shrinks away from a fat toad. In the story, the toad's mother had kidnapped Thumbelina as..... 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
(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
Santa Cruz: Peter & Donna Thomas, 1991. (11)pp. One of 150 copies. Young Suzanne Thomas' own drawings, printed in color, accompany her original tale of an angel on a walk. Bound in full blue cloth with three small stones inset to upper cover. Fine. (2 15/16 by 2 3/16; 75x54mm)..... More
(Exeter, NH): C. Norris & Co., 1812. 142pp. A charming thumb Bible with significant stories told in prose followed by supplements with references to verses. Bound in full brown leather with gilt decorations to spine and covers, including the monogram "E. L." to upper cover. Rear flyleaf torn and small..... 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
St. Louis, MO: United Toy Manufacturers, Inc., 1919. Oblong 24mo. 16pp. Illustrated throughout in both black-and-white and color are the offerings for United's 1919 line of wooden toys, among which are scooters, wagons, hobby horses, and even a merry-go-round. Tipped-in at the rear is the dealer's price list. Staple-bound in..... 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
Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing Co., (c. 1930). Oblong octavo. (12)ff. Each leaf provides a different design, with instructions for removing the stencils—then to be used as guides for the emergent carpenter—and for assembly. The kit includes an arm chair, a soldier, a table, a squirrel-shaped door stop, a Nosey Nellie..... 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
(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