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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(Mandalay: c. 1920). Small folio. (32)pp. A delightful and informative rhyming alphabet, hailing from the the era in Myanmar (then Burma) when it was a colony of the British Empire. Wheeler Cuffe's twenty-six watercolors, reproduced here as chromolithographs, portray various aspects of Burmese life in sumptuous color and studied detail..... More
Philadelphia: American Sunday School Union, 1827. 48mo. 16pp. Engraved frontispiece and title page, as well as several devices in text. A moral tale told through the nature of snow-drop flowers, the lesson providing greater resolve in Christ's provision and righteousness. The final two pages rephrase the lesson into a poem..... More
Boston: American Tract Society, (c. 1868). 64mo. vi, 192pp. Seven full-page engravings, including frontispiece, some illustrating Biblical motifs and others devout children engaged in their congregational activities. These accompany "daily food," a spiritually nutritional Bible verse for every day of the year. The title page indicates this as the revised..... More
NY: Sociedade de Tratadas Americana, (c. 1870). 24mo. 63pp. Engraved frontispiece and two further engravings in the text, all showing the white Henriquinho, born in Dinapore, India, in the company of non-white caretakers, who nurture him in his orphanhood. The tale and its imagery provide a rare window into the..... More
NY: American Tract Society, (n.d.). 32mo. 16pp. Engraving on the title page and full-page engraving on the title-page verso. A narrative following the persistent purity and faith of Mary Jones throughout her life, with firm encouragements that readers adopt a similar devotion. Crisp in engraved paper wrappers with repair work..... More
(c. 1970s-80s). Pictorial Arabic alphabet poster, each letter of which is presented beside an image of an object beginning with that letter, with the full word beneath. The full word is written with the harakat or tashkil phonetic aids, which provide the correct pronunciation for children who are learning to..... More
Le Caire: Imprimerie Nationale de Boulaq, 1884. 32mo. 320pp. Second edition. A French-Arabic textbook, here with impressive typographic innovation to suit Arabic script to the printed object. The book, both as an effort in linguistic translation and as a collaborative project between French aristocrat and Egyptologist Jean-Baptiste (Henry) de Vaujany..... More
New Haven: Babcock, Sidney, (c. 1845). 16mo. 16pp. Illustrated with title-page vignette of the Crucifixion and seven wood engravings. A collection of seven stories from the Old and New Testaments, retold for children: Moses Viewing Canaan; Samson Carrying Away the Gates of Gaza; David and Goliath; John Baptizing Christ; Water..... More
New Haven: S. Babcock, 1840. 32mo. 16pp. A moral chapbook with many engraved illustrations throughout. The titular explanations are told from a mother to her daughter. They primarily deal with the origins and uses of various textiles, but by the end of the story they encompass all living things designed..... More
c. 2014. Watercolor on paper measuring 8 1/4 by 11 3/4 inches (image area 4 1/8 by 3 1/4 inches). Matted. The illustration reproduced from this watercolor appears on page 45 of the printed work, accompanying the following text: "And some few small aunts, not wanted in the kitchen, nor..... More
NY: Hacker Art Books, 1963. Two quarto vols. xvi, 645; xii, 840pp. A later reprint of Lipperheide's thorough bibliography of national costuming, still in its original German. Volumes bound in blue cloth over boards with gilt spine titling. Modest overall edge rubbing, else near fine. More
Baltimore: William Raine, (c. 1840). 24mo. (8)ff. Hand-colored engravings on every page illustrate clever Jack Horner's tale of generosity and moral rectitude. Bound in pictorial yellow wrappers, with advertisements on the back cover. Light soiling to interior, some edgewear, else near fine. More
NY: John C. Totten, 1819. 24mo. 46pp. With an illustrated frontispiece, title page, and eight woodcuts. The story of Little Jack, a foundling adopted and raised by an old man, who grows up to become a soldier. Second Totten edition. Bound in original tan printed wrappers, with short split along..... More
Margate: T. H. Keble, c. 1850. 24mo. (12)pp. Eight engravings and an array of typographical borders guide young readers through their first lessons in letters, spelling, and eventually reading. Bound in pink wrappers, now uniformly faded, with alternate title on upper cover ("New ABC Book") and publisher's advertising on lower..... More
(N.p. c. 1850). 24mo. (8)pp. Illustrated in black & white throughout. The intrigue of this booklet originates from its likely pirated content. The engravings are eclectic—an image of a rabbit is accompanied by the British royal seal and the seal of the Ancient Order of Foresters—and poorly printed. Also included..... More
NY: American Tract Society, (c. 1827-1833). 64mo. 16pp. Seven total engravings, including one on title page and two full-page. A familiar child's tale advocating for devotion, humility, and graciousness. Begins with a page of verse, summarizing the story's salient points. Mild edgewear and minimal, if any, internal foxing, else near..... More
London: Dean & Son, (c. 1860). 32mo. 8pp. Engravings of bucolic English scenes adorn the prose tale of the pious Dutch farmer and his influence on British soldiers, and the following poem entitled "The Seed and the Prayer". Very rare, with no physical institutional holdings, and even rarer for its..... More
Montpelier, VT: E.P. Walton, c. 1835. 32mo. 16pp. (wrappers included in pagination). Illustrated throughout with woodcuts. Contains three short narratives likely crafted around an existing illustration, each intended to instill a lesson to guide morals and behavior in young readers. Walton published in Montpelier in two distinct periods: between 1835..... More
NY: Kiggins & Kellogg, (c. 1850). 48mo. Illustrated throughout with full-page black & white engravings and smaller vignettes. This near-miniature chapbook contains a tale about American colonization and independence, told to a young audience in order to explain the significance of the July 4th holiday. Fine in printed buff wrappers..... More
NY: Kiggins & Kellogg, (c. 1855). 64mo. 16pp. Five engravings throughout, four of them full page, illustrate scenes of wilderness adventure. The accompanying tale provides both suspenseful and moralistic overtures to keep the young reader hooked. Bound in gray wrappers, which identify the book as "Second Series. - No. 9"..... More
New Haven: Babcock, J., 1822. 16mo. 32 pp. Illustrated with eight plates, each bearing two engravings by Alexander Anderson. This is the first part of an abridged version of Hundred Wonders of the World, also published by Babcock, and for which an advertisement appears on the title-page verso. The text..... More
Philadelphia: Morgan & Yeager, 1832. 32mo. 32pp. Illustrated with a frontispiece and five engraved plates, all of which are hand-colored. The text of this moral tale in verse was adapted from the original French story written by Madame de Beaumont. Catherine Ann Dorset chose to write anonymously, even though she..... More
Cincinnati, OH: Poe & Hitchcock, 1864. 32mo. 49pp. Engraved frontispiece, as well as engraved initials to begin each chapter. The chapters mark episodes in the young life of the titular Johnny, as he learns moral values and proper interpersonal relationships. The half-title ascribes the title to the series "Maple Grove..... More
Cincinnati: U. P. James, (c. 1860). 24mo. 31pp. Illustrated throughout with stock wood engravings to accompany alphabets, vocabulary lists, grammar lessons, and short poems and moral stories. Crisply printed and, save expected minor soiling to exterior, remarkably clean in blue wrappers. Fine. More
Épinal: Pellerin et Cie. (c. 1870). 16mo. (24)pp, accordionfold. The book guides the reader along the busy city streets, navigating through and identifying the various sellers in alphabetical order, by way of hand-colored engravings. The alphabet, as typical for the language, omits "W;" and "X" and "Y" appear on the..... More
