Special List
of Thirty 19th Century Children's Books
1. The Animal Kingdom: or, a Concise History of Birds and Beasts. Edinburgh: James Clarke & Co., n.d. [1830s?]. Quarter to half page illustration at tope of each page, 31p. [wrapper included in pagination]. Softcover (light yellow wrapper). 13cm. Light cover soil and a couple of spots. Tiny chip at one corner of back cover. Very Good. Two pages each given to the lobster and elephant; one page each to the hippopotamus, camel, wolf, dog, horse, lion, tiger, eagle, osprey, ostrich, swan, peacock, water crow, cuckoo, robin, siskinm, waterwagtail. golden-crested wren, and serpent. 100.00
2. The Child's Medley. Embellished with Colored Engravings. [cover title]. Providence: Geo. P. Daniels, 1836. 8 leaves, printed on one side (hand-colored illustration on top half; printed text below). Softcover (light yellow wrapper). 15cm. Substantial nibbling along top edges of wrapper, which is lightly mottled. Contents sound and clean. Very Good. The hand-coloring in this scarce little children's book is nicely done and the colors are still bright and fresh looking. 450.00
3. Death and Burial of Cock Robin. Banbury: Printed by J. G. Rushers, n.d. [1820s?]. 16p. Self wrapper. 10cm. Very Good. Illustrated with 17 small woodcuts. Scarce children's chapbook. 250.00
4. Elliott, Mary Belson. The Rambles of a Butterfly. By Mary Belson. London: W. Darton, Jun., 1819. 3 plates, including frontis, and a pages of advertisements at the end, 177p. Contemporary but probably not original quarterbinding. 14cm. Cover scuffed. Extremities rather worn. Scattered foxing and some minor browning. Good. Uncommon early (1st?) edition of a children's book about a butterfly and a group of children. 125.00
5. Elmina, or the Flower that Never Fades. A Tale for Young People. New Haven: From Sidney's Press, 1808. frontis, 8 smaller woodcuts in text, 30p. Plain wrapper (may originally have had some titling). 11cm. Vertical knife slit through middle portion of front cover, title-leaf and following page. Moderate foxing. Fair. Frontis printed inside front cover. Alphabets at page 4 and inside back cover. Numerous editions of this little children's book were published. We've recently catalogued another edition of this tale which was titled "Maria, or the Ever-Blooming Flower." It is the tale of a virtuous young woman who is given an enchanted plant that helps her learn and adhere to the virtues of modesty, virtue, beneficence, gentleness, mind and grace. Her reward is that she marries a prince and lives happily ever after. 60.00
6. The Fire, or, Never Despair. With the History and Adventures of a Cat. New Haven: From Sidney's Press for I. Cooke & Co., 1813. illustrations (full-page illustration printed inside front cover facing title-page, title vignette and four smaller illustration at beginning or ends of sections, 47p. [wrapper included in pagination]. Illustrations on front and back cover. Softcover. 11cm. Substantial foxing and browning throughout. Small hole in back cover (loss of a couple to letters on inside and a bit of the cover illustration). Short tear on front cover. Good. An uncommon children's book. OCLC lists a copy published by Cooke and dated 1812. An English edition of "The Fire, or, Never Despair" was published in 1808. We don't know whether the story of a cat was previously published. 225.00
7. Grandmamma Easy's Wonders of a Toy Shop. Philadelphia: Appleton, n.d. [1840s?]. 8 hand-colored illustration on 8 leaves. Softcover (pictorial blue wrapper). 25cm. Substantial staining and some soil on wrapper (which is also split at fold). Text leaves almost entirely detached and far from pristine -- wrinkling at corners, some stains (mostly in the margins at bottom and along left side) and soil. Hand-coloring still bright; illustrations little affected by the stains. Fair. One of a series of "Appleton's Splendid Toy Books which appear to have been published in the 1840s or, possibly, 1850s -- twelve Grandmamma Easy titles are listed on the back cover. OCLC lists no copies of this Appleton edition, but does list copies of versions published in London by Dean & Co. and in Albany by Steele & Durrie. We assume that the London edition came first since there is a real English flavor to the text but don't know which American edition came first. We compared our Appleton copy with the Steele & Durrie copy at Yale's Beinecke Library and noted, that while the text and illustrations are basically the same there were several significant differences: (1) the cover illustrations are quite different -- Appleton has a tall long-fingered standing lady showing a picture book to several children while Steele & Durrie's grandmother is seated and also much shorter and rounder; (2) the order of the illustrations in the two books is different -- page 3 appears at page 5, Page 5 appears at page 6, page 6 at 8, page 7 as 3; and page 3 as 7; (3) the name of the toy shop on page 1 is the Philadelphia Toy Shop while Steele & Durrie gives their name to the sign board above the shop; (4) there are subtle differences in the illustrations -- a mask or kite in the upper right corner of the window display at page 1 in Appleton's is a doll house in Steele & Durrie's; an umbrella over the horse at page 5 changes size; the shading is different in many places; and several of the illustrations show a little more or less on the right or left sides (thus, an extra window appears in a church building at page 8 in the Appleton version); and (5) there are textual differences on two pages making the Appleton version just a little less English -- on page 4 the Lord Mayor's Day has been changed to Thanksgiving day; on page 7 Royal Exchange is United States Bank and Parliament House is Custom House. 550.00
8. The Grandmother's Gift, or, Moral Stories for Children. New Haven: Printed for John Babcock & Son [by] Sidney's Press, 1820. frontis, title vignette, 5 small woodcuts in text, 31p. Softcover (gray wrapper, woodcut illustration on front). 15cm. frontis and last page pasted to inside of wrapper. Moderate foxing and browning. Light stain at top of inner margin on first few pages. Minor corner chipping and dog-earing. Good. An uncommon little children's book. Wrapper lists S. & W. R. Babcock of Charleston as the joint publisher. 125.00
9. History and Anecdotes of the Elephant. With Beautiful Engravings. New Haven: S. Babcock, 1840. 16p. [no separate wrapper]. Softcover chapbook. 12cm. Old unreadable name in brown on front. Later dark stitching. Moderate foxing. Good. Children's chapbook. Description of the elephant and his habits and employment by man. 150.00
10. History of Animals. Windsor, Vt.: Printed by P. Merrifield, n.d. [circa 1820]. 10p. Softcover (illustrated gray wrapper). 11cm. Small stain on center of inner margin. Relatively light foxing. Illustrated with several small woodcuts. Cover title: A Present [followed by "Tis a very good present, A nice little toy, For a sweet young girl, Or a brave little toy."]. Front cover apparently included in pagination. Scarce little children's chapbook. Animals, one to a page, are fox, horse, lion, cat, dog, catamount, tiger and elephant. 150.00
11. A History of Beasts. For the Use of Children. Concord, N.H.: Rufus Merrill, 1843. title vignette, full-page illustration inside back cover & four smaller illustrations, 8p. Softcover (green wrapper). 9cm. Name inked on front. Light foxing & browning. Very Good. The four animals described are lion, elephant, leopard and buffalo. 35.00
12. A History of Birds. Concord, N. H.: Rufus Merrill, 1843. title vignette (also on front cover) plus 8 small woodcuts. 16p. Softcover (blue wrapper). 11cm. Relatively light foxing and wear. Very Good. New and Amusing Toys, Series 2, No. 7. Chapbook for young readers. Birds described are the eagle, gooseander, widgeon, heron, bittern, tern, curlew, and woodcock. 25.00
13. History of Ferocious and Foreign Quadrupeds, Containing the Most Authentic Account of Their Properties and Peculiarities. London: Printed for R. Dutton, 1806. frontis, illustrations (not full-page), 72p. Softcover (plain wrapper). Erroneous title ("History of Ferocious and Forest Animals") and a price of 1s. on printed label on front cover. 14cm. Wrapper worn around edges and lacking backstrip. Corners round and dog-eared; contents otherwise sound and clean except for a few stains on first few leaves and some light soiling. A very uncommon early shildren's book. The illustrations appear to be in the style of someone like Buffon -- the animals are mostly right but the proportions and features of some seem slightly off. Ten animals are illustrated and described (lion, tiger, elephant, rhinoceros, bear, camel, hippopotamus, baboon, beaver, and ichneumon or Egyptian mongoose). 500.00
14. The Little, but Affecting History of Mary Howard. [Sanbornton, N.H.]: Sandbornton Press, 1835. 16p. Softcover (blue wrapper, with little illustration on front and back). 10cm. Light foxing on wrapper. Text pages correctly numbered but misbound in the wrong order. Very Good. Wrapper dated 1836. Alphabet on page 4. Small chapbook for children, telling of the improbable story of an English child whose parents die, and who falls into the hands of an evil uncle who wants to drown her so that he can inherit his brother's estate; instead Mary ends up in New Zealand where almost all of her white companions are killed by "frightful looking" natives. Mary's forehead is tattooed by the natives and she then returns safely to England. 175.00
15. Little Helen; or a Day in the Life of a Naughty Girl. New Haven: S. Babcock, 1840. title vignette, 6 full-page illustrations, 16p. Self wraps. 13cm. Relatively light cover soiling. A few light brown stains. Very Good. In this chapbook, a disobedient girl learns politeness and to obey her elders by being patiently reprimanded and then locked in a closet. 45.00
16. Lovechild, Lawrence [pseud.]. Little Red Riding Hood. Philadelphia: John S. Cotton, (c. 1840). 7 full-page color illustrations, colored vignette on title-page, small black & white illustration at bottom of last page, [16]p. Softcover (light orange wrapper). 21cm. Moderate cover soil. Wrapper chipped, partially split, and rather worn along backstrip. Relatively minor rounding (and dog-earing) at corner. Gift inscription dated 1862 and a small piece missing on upper right corner of title-page. Text has a couple of loose pages but is otherwise sound and clean. Good. Ms. Hood does not fare well in this version; the wolf devours Grandma and then, according to the text aided by the illustration, lures Little Red into bed with him and, putting his paws around her, proceeds to eat her up. A moral lesson ending this uncommon edition of the tale advises children not to loiter when on an errand and not to be lured from the road by playmates. The woodcut illustrations were done by Brightly from designs by Darley. 750.00
17. London Jingles and Country Tales, for Young People. [cover title]. Banbury: Printed by J. G. Rusher, n.d. [ca. 1820?]. 16p. Self wrapper. 11cm. Moderate soil on front. Very Good. A scarce little chapbook full of nursery rhymes and illustrated by 16 small woodcuts and a title vignette. This and five other Rusher chapbooks were reprinted as part of "Six Nineteenth Century Chapbooks in Facsimile" by Toronto's Maki Press in 1976. 250.00
18. [MacDuff, John R.] The Twinkling Star. Philadelphia: American Sunday School Union, n.d. [18--?]. frontis, title vignette, 34p. Hardcover (paper-covered boards, backed in leather). 15cm. Edges rubbed. Sunday school library notation on endpaper. Light foxing. Very Good. Religious tale about a child who is comforted by her steadfast Christian faith as she sickens and dies. 35.00
19. Miscellaneous Toys, Puzzles and Out-Door Sports. Boston: Cyrus G. Cooke, n.d. [186-?]. illustrations (in text), 36p. Softcover (light brown wrapper). 16cm. Name "Christmas 1865" inked along top of front cover (which also has a corner crease. Very Good. Illustration on front of four girls which is surrounded by a series of smaller illustrations; "Girl's Delight" lettered in red around top of center illustration. Almost entirely devoted to indoor crafts and just a couple of outdoor games (a "hand-ball" for playing catch and a game called "Les Graces"). 150.00
20. Natural History of Birds; Containing a Familiar Survey of the Feathered Creation, for the Amusement and Instruction of Youth. London: Printed by John Chappell, (Successor to R. Harrild), n.d. hand-colored frontis, 14 partial-page woodcut illustrations (one for each bird). Softcover. Plain contemporary stiff wrapper (original?). 14cm. Browning and soil around edges of wrapper. Contents sound and clean although one leaf is so closely trimmed (as bound) so closely around fore-edge that there is no margin. Scattered foxing. Very Good. There were earlier edition published by Harrild as well as some American editions. OCLC lists only one copy of this edition (at the Newberry Library). The fourteen birds illustrated and described are eagle, vulture, falcon, pelican, heron, cock, hen, turkey, swan, goose, duck, peacock, partridge, and magpie. One odd assertion is that turkeys in America and in the East Indies generally weigh 50 pounds. [page 25]. 175.00
21. The New England Primer, or an Easy and Pleasant Guide to the Art of Reading. Adorned with Cuts. To Which Is Added the Catechism. Boston: Mass. Sabbath School Society, 1839. illustrations, [64]p. Softcover (yellow wrapper). 11cm. Short tear on front cover. Moderate foxing. Some staining along fore-edge. Good. Alphabet at page 2. The Massachusetts Sunday School Society appears to have published several printings, all containing 64 pages, over thirty or more years (roughly 1813-1843). 40.00
22. A New History of Scotland; from the Earliest Accounts. With the Lives of Fergus I, Fergus II, Kenneth II, Kenneth III, Alexander II, Alexander III, Sir William Wallce [sic] and Other Kings Who Have Reigned since Fergus I ... Adorned with Copperplates. Glasgow: Printed by Falconer & Willison and Sold Wholesale by J. Lumsden & Son, Engravers, n.d. [18--?]. 7 brownish-red illustrations, 47p. [i.e. 45]. Softcover (brownish-red wrapper). 11cm. Small vignette illustrations of a Scotchman, Englishman, Irishman and Frenchman on wrapper. Moderate soiling on wrapper. Very Good. This little chapbook (identified on wrapper as "A Toy Book") appears to be quite uncommon. 225.00
23. Pictorial History of Little Jack Horner. London: J. A. & J. R. Wood, n.d. (1850s]. hand-colored illustrations on upper 60% of each page, [8] pages (including inside of wrapper). Interior pages printed on one side. Softcover (yellow wrapper). Disbound (stitch marks along left side indicate that this was removed from a bound volume). Moderate soil and a small stain on wrapper. Contents sound. Very Good. Cover title: Wood's Little Jack Horner. We dated this uncommon little children's book as from the 1850s because one of the other books listed on the back is "Uncle John's -- Visit to the Crystal Palace." The hand-coloring is applied rather carelessly. 500.00
24. [Alphabet Book] The Picture Alphabet, or Easy Road to Learning, for Good Boys and Girls. NY: Mahlon Day, 1830. illustrations, partly colored, [8] leaves, printed on one side. Softcover (yellow wrapper). 17cm. Name on front cover. Moderate cover soil. Wrapper partially split at fold. Stitch marks at fold where this appears to have been disbound from a later binding. Good. The hand coloring is rather crudely done in this very scarce little alphabet book. OCLC lists only two holding (of an 1837 edition). 750.00
25. The Picture Book; or Familiar Objects Described. New Haven: S. Babcock, n.d. [1830s or 1840s]. 16p. Softcover. Light pink wrapper. 9cm. Substantial foxing. Very Good. Uncommon chapbook for children. OCLC lists three printings dated between 1830 and 1842. The chapbook contains a small woodcut illustration for each familiar object (ax, knives & forks, chair, horn comb, hair-brush, fur cape & muff, shoes, fiddle, saddle, harness, chains, spikes, horse-shoes, coat, stockings and candles). 100.00
26. Pictures of All Nations, with Simple Descriptions. London: Darton and Clark, n.d. [1840s?]. colored vignette on title-page followed by 16 leaves printed on one side with a hand colored illustration on the top half and text below, and ending with a page advertising Mrs. Sherwood's New Sixpenny Books, with Colored Plates. Softcover (printed wrapper). 16cm. Small illustration on front cover; a larger illustration of a dog on the back). Wrapper split at fold, chipped at corners, and rather heavily soiled. First few text leaves detached; some relatively minor corner chipping and dog-earing on text leaves. Fair, Needs restoration. An uncommon little children's book; OCLC lists only one copy (Univ. of Chicago). Each text page describes characteristics and customs of the inhabitants of various countries or regions of the world and each illustration depict a typical male and female. From the descriptions it seems clear that the English are the best and most reasonable of all peoples; Highlanders, the Swiss and the Swedes are also described in only positive terms. The description of other peoples makes it clear that they have one or more serious national character flaws. Thus, Africans are "very ignorant and uncivilized; the customs of the Turks are "very peculiar;" Esquimaux are "strangers to the arts of civilized life;" Italians are "prone to indolence and pleasure;" Laplanders are "very fond of brandy when they can get it;" Spaniards are "superstitious, haughty, and insatiably revengeful;" the Chinese are "cunning and dishonest, and have a great dislike to Europeans;" Arabians "subsist in a great measure by plunder;" the Portuguese are "superstitious and very revengeful;" the Dutch are "very stout and clumsily made" and are also "unsocial in their manners, and much addicted to covetousness;" the French are "generally of a frivolous character;" and, finally, the Russians are "coarse and stupid, and in their manners are half barbarians." North Americans, other than the Esquimaux, are not mentioned. 375.00
27. A Present from New-York, Containing Many Pictures Worth Seeing, and Some Things Worth Remembering. NY: Mahlon Day & Co., n.d. [1830s?]. frontis, title vignette, illustrations (at head of each page), 31p. Softcover (light yellow wrapper). 14cm. Small chip in front cover. Moderate foxing. Good. Instruction, advice, poetry, etc. 20.00
28. Sherwood, Mrs. The India Orphan, or the History of Little henry, and His Bearer. New Haven: Printed at Sidney's Press, 1818. Third American edition [so stated]. 48p. Softcover (original printed wrapper). 15cm. Significant browning and moderate foxing. Small dark stain in right margin. Front cover chipped or gnawed around edges. Good. Sherwood's tale under various titles was quite popular and numerous editions were published in England and America. It seems unlikely that this is truly the "third" American edition but it is certainly an uncommon edition. 200.00
29. Sherwood, Mrs. Memoirs of Sergeant Dale, His Daughter, and the Orphan Mary. Boston: Samuel T. Armstrong and Crocker & Bewster, 1821. First American, from the Eleventh London edition [so stated on title-page]. frontis, 71p. Softcover. Original printer wrapper. 14cm. Back cover almost detached. Backstrip mostly gone. Contents sound but there is substantial foxing. Good. Most of the story in this children's book is set in or around Calcutta. 200.00
30. Wilkinson, Sarah. The History of Crazy Jane . Alnwick: Printed and sold by W. Davison, (1818). frontis, title vignette and 3 full-page illustrations (apparently by Luke Clennell), 40p. Softcover (printed gray wrapper, lettered in black). 14cm. Old tape marks on end sheets (probably for a now absent protective jacket of some sort). Minor spotting & soil. Very Good. Jane is unable to recover her mental bearings after she is seduced and abandoned by Henry Percival, a handsome young man. Jane dies before Henry returns full of remorse from the West Indies. Henry commits suicide on Jane's grave. 300.00
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&