Search Results: Children's Books from Classic Books and Ephemera

New York: Taintor Brothers & Co, 1888. Hardcover. Good +. xii, 191 p.: illustrations of geometric shapes; 19 cm. Black cloth spine; brown paper over boards printed in black. Cover title: Reading Speller: A New Method of Teaching Spelling. Cover imprint: New York: Text Book Company Publishers. Includes words in both print and script, and maxims in script. Lessons are arranged by subject. Although the Text Book Company copyrighted this title in 1883, this undated edition by Taintor Brothers & Co., at 18 and 20 Astor Place, New York, could not have been produced before 1888, when Taintor began publishing at that address under that form of their business name. In Good+ Condition: cloth is rubbed through along upper back joint; corners are heavily rubbed; minor loss of paper over boards along edges; lacking front free endpaper; old repair of both hinges; title page and pp. 10-11 are soiled; otherwise pages are clean and tight.

New York: American Tract Society, 1848. Hardcover. Good. 16, 16 p.: illustrations; 12 cm. Dark green cloth spine with marbled paper over boards. Gilt-stamped spine title "The Carnation" and "54." Following the text of Elisha is a poem "Prayer for a New Heart." The American Tract Society used "150 Nassau St.," the address in the imprint, from 1833 to 1894. The typeface used here was adopted in 1848. No date of publication but produced no earlier than 1848. Former owner inscription on front free endpaper and following blank leaf: Elem Witmer 1871. Very scarce. In Good Condition: much of marbled paper lacking from boards; some corners creased; lightly soiled.

New York: Dodge Publishing Company, 1909. Hardcover. Good -. Wain, Louis. [48] p.: 7 full-page color illustrations, many color illustrations with text; 25 cm. Grey paper over boards; black, green, and purple cover illustration of female cat with ball of yarn sitting next to kitten in a cradle. Grey fixed endpapers. No date of publication given; it was published in Britain by Blackie and Son in 1908. This is the first American edition with first verse being "Playtime in Pussy-town." Title vignette is a cat holding a sign reading "Christmas Carols." Most pages have one illustration with amusing verse, some have more than one illustration on a page. The center two pages, without verse, contain four illustrations set in a nickelodeon, showing what happens when an audience of cats sees a moving image of mice. The final 11 pages contain verses about Christmas, including Santa Claws and several about the traditional English pantomime. Gift inscription on front fixed endpaper… Read More

Chicago and New York: Lyons and Carnahan, 1938. Hardcover. Very Good. 480 p.: illustrations; 19 cm. Green cloth with black spine and cover titles; red and black cover illustration of a city with skyscrapers above a globe, and a small plane and a dirigible above the buildings. "5" -- on spine. "World at Work" -- on front cover below illustration. Endpapers with illustration in orange. Stamped "Property of Sellersville Public Schools" on front and back endpapers. Contains fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, including a section on finger prints, with study questions and suggestions for improving reading and study ability. In Very Good Condition: slightly cocked; corners rubbed; tail of spine fraying; cover is lightly soiled; pages are clean and tight.

Chicago: Merrill Publishing Co, 1937. Paperback. Good. Trimmer, George. [12] p.: color illustrations; 33 cm. Stapled; color illustrated covers. "3427" -- on cover. Selections from Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses are exuberantly illustrated by George Trimmer. Contents: Time to Rise -- Whole Duty of Children -- At the Seaside -- Singing -- The Cow -- The Swing -- The Land of Counterpane -- The Land of Nod -- Foreign Children -- Foreign Lands -- The Wind -- Bed in Summer -- Rain -- My Shadow. In Good Condition: cover is stained and starting to separate at tail; faint dampstain along gutter only on first page and last page; writing on back cover; old repair of lower edge of back cover; minor finger soiling along lower page edges; illustrations are generally clean and bright.

New York: E.P. Dutton & Company, 1885. Hard Cover. Good +. Lawson, Lizzie. Published by E.P. Dutton & Co., New York, and Griffith, Farran & Co., London. 31, [1] p.: frontispiece and 9 additional full-page chromolithographed illustrations; 23 cm. Green cloth spine with brown-and-white lithographed illustrations on green paper over boards. Floral endpapers. "Lithographed and printed by Ernest Nister of Nuremberg" -- from colophon. No date of publication. Title page and each page of text have small lithographed illustration. Inscription on front free endpaper verso: Margaretta R. Leeds, Christmas 1885. In Good+ Condition: cover is soiled and rubbed; corners of boards are rubbed, but spine is not frayed; front and back free endpapers are detaching; back hinge is weak; some soiling along margins of pages; otherwise pages and illustrations are clean and bright.

Philadelphia: American Sunday-School Union, 1859. Hardcover. Good -. 180 p., frontispiece and 2 leaves of plates: illustrations; 15 cm. Black leather spine with marbled paper over boards. Five spine compartments between gilt rules with gilt-tooled spine title in second compartment. All page edges speckled black. Publisher's advertisements on endpapers. Note on p. 7 states: "The following are three of the four Memoirs which constitute the first series of "My Parish; or, The Country Parson's Visits to His Poor," by Rev. Barton Bouchier. No date of publication. The imprint includes: New York, 375 Broadway. The American Sunday School Union was at this New York address from 1857 to 1859. This title was listed in American Sunday School Union catalogues from Jan. 1859 to at least 1893. Contents: Cooper Gent -- George Elliott -- On the Death of an Idiot-Girl -- Mary How. Scarce. In Good- Condition: front board is detached but present; cover is rubbed, with minor loss of… Read More

Königstein im Taunus & Leipzig: Karl Robert Langewiesche, 1921. Paperback. Very Good. 67, [1] p., 8 leaves with 16 color illustrations: many in-text drawings; 26 cm. Grey and blue card covers. "198. bis 249. Tausend. 1921." Drawn from two works by the Swedish artist Carl Larsson (1853-1919): Ett Hem and Larssons. The wonderful illustrations depict the artist's home and family. In Very Good Condition: edges rubbed; cover is lightly soiled; back cover scraped; occasional light marginal soiling; otherwise, interior is clean and bright.

Philadelphia: Macrae-Smith Co, 1946. Hardcover. Very Good +/fair +. 264 p.: illustrations; 21 cm. Blue cloth with dark blue spine and cover titles, and spine decoration. Top page edges red. Illustrated dust jacket printed in blue and red; in mylar cover. Publisher's advertisements on back flap and back section. Elizabeth Headley was one of the pennames used by American author Betty Cavanna (1909-2001), who published many works for teens and children from the early 1940s into the late 1980s. The ups and downs of Diane's sophmore year in high school have made this a perennial favorite. This is the first edition, with illustrations by Janet Smalley, of a book reissued several times with other illustrators. This edition is very scarce. Book is in Very Good+ Condition: ends of spine and corners lightly rubbed; "Vo. 31" written at lower edge of front free endpaper; top page edges slightly soiled and discolored; pages are clean and tight. Dust jacket is in Fair+ Condition: loss… Read More

London and New York: Frederick Warne and Co, 1897. Hardcover. Good. 48 p. (includes frontispiece and 7 leaves of chromolithographed plates): illustrations; 27 cm. Red cloth spine; white boards with chromolithographed title and illustration on front board. No date of publication; advertised for sale in 1897. Endpapers decorated with publisher's emblem. Former owner's name on front free endpaper: Ernest H. Menges. Includes Old Mother Hubbard, The Three Jovial Welshmen, and The House that Jack Built, among many others, long and short. Scarce. In Good Condition: cover is rubbed and soiled; old pencil marks on back cover; back hinge weak; occasional soiling in lower margins; otherwise, clean and solid.

New York: Pacific Coast Borax Co, 1934. Paperback. Fine. [8] p.: color illustrations; 27 cm. Stapled booklet with a striking cover illustration of the Old Ranger on horseback. Cover title. Back cover has advertisement for the Furnace Creek Inn in Death Valley, opened by the Pacific Coast Borax Co. in 1927. Contents: Purple and Fine Linen, illustrated by Harold von Schmidt -- The Mysterious Stranger, illustrated by R. Wayne Hall -- A Spade's a Spade, illustrated by Charles E. Bracker -- An Eye for an Eye, illustrated by Frank B. Hoffman --Map of Death Valley, recently set aside as a National Monument. Contains ads for 20 Mule Team Borax, boric acid, and soap chips, and the radio program Death Valley Days. In Fine Condition: clean and bright.

New York: S. Campbell, 1794. Hardcover. Good. 237, [3], 98 p.: frontispiece; 14 cm. Signatures: A-U6; A-H6 I6(-I2-6) (12mo). Contemporary calf with modern archival spine and hinge repair. Remains of gilt-tooled spine label with title: Cain and Abel. Two unnumbered pages of publisher's advertisements follow text. Early Am. Imprints, ser. I (Evans), 27049; Rosenbach, Children's Books, 174. Bound with: Mary Collyer's The Death of Cain: in Five Books; After the Manner of The Death of Abel by a Lady (New York: S. Campbell, 1794). Published anonymously; attributed to Mary Collyer by Halkett & Laing. Early Am. Imprints, ser. I (Evans) 26858. Former owners' inscriptions on front endpapers and title page of The Death of Cain for Samuel Worrall (1806) and Lydia Worrall (1809). Extremely scarce. The Death of Cain lacks final 20 pages (pp. 99-119); otherwise in Good Condition: cover is worn; lacking 3x2 cm. of frontispiece; pp. xi-xii is detached but present; lower corner of pp.… Read More

New York: Cassell & Co, 1889. Hardcover. Fair. Copyright 1889 by O.M. Dunham. "Beatty & Votteler, Lith." -- on back board. 80, [2] p.: full-page and in-text illustrations; 25 cm. Chromolithographed boards with illustration of a small girl with a red umbrella on the front board and a small girl in a blue dress holding a branch with apple blossoms on the back board. Brown title on spine; blue and brown title on front board. Advertisements on endpapers, including a full-page alphabet that is an ad for Sapolio. Former owner's name on blank page following front ads: Sallie Buckley. Contains children's poetry, short fiction, and illustrations, many involving animals. In Fair Condition: text block separated from boards; boards are lightly soiled; loss of some cloth along spine; pages are browning; otherwise clean.

New York: American Tract Society, 1848. Hardcover. Good. 16, 16 p.: illustrations; 12 cm. Dark blue cloth spine with marbled paper over boards. Gilt-stamped spine title "The Deserter" and "37." The Deserter also includes the story Little Emilia. Little Theodore's Faith also includes the story A Child's Faith and the poem "The Children's Friend." The American Tract Society used "150 Nassau St.," the address in the imprint, from 1833 to 1894. The typeface used here was adopted in 1848. No date of publication but produced no earlier than 1848. The Deserter refers to an American deserter during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). Former owner's inscription on front free endpaper: "William Hornbeck's Book 1861." Scarce. In Good Condition: boards are rubbed; closed tear along gutter of pp. 7-8; soiled throughout; solid.

London: Raphael Tuck & Sons, 1895. Paperback. Good -. [8] p.: in-text illustrations and 1 double-page color illustration; 17 cm. Entirely linen; light blue linen cover with color front cover illustration. At head of front cover: "Untearable linen." Part of the publisher's Father Tuck's Dolly Dear Series. Artistic series, no. 2300. No date of publication, but form of imprint indicates that this was issued in 1895 or later. Contents: Dick Whittington -- If All the World -- Pat a Cake, Pat a Cake -- "Handy Spandy" -- "Three Children Sliding on the Ice" -- Ride a Cock Horse -- Simple Simon. In Good- Condition: edges are fraying; cover and last leaf stained; creasing and light soiling throughout; slight loss of color on front cover; center two leaves detached from staples.

New York: Amerikanischen Traktats-Gesellschaft [American Tract Society], 1850. Paperback. Very Good -. 32 p.: illustrations; 11 cm. Brown wrapper printed in red. No. 8 in the series Verzeichniss von Kinder-Tractaten, which is listed on the back wrapper through number 16. No date of publication. The 1852 annual report of the American Tract Society lists titles in this series through number 17. Also contains lyrics for four songs. Decorative stamp in center of front wrapper: "UBSS." Scarce. In Very Good- Condition: wrapper is separated and lightly soiled; tear from one edge of front wrapper with loss; dampstain at lower edge of first 2 leaves; foxing throughout.

Leipzig: Franz Schneider, 1934. Hardcover. Near Fine -. [20] p.: 9 full-page color illustrations; 15 cm. Gold paper over boards with white and black title and color cover illustration. "2" at tail of spine in white. In verse. Title vignette and small illustration on each page with verse. "Bestell. Nr. 703" -- above publication statement on title page. No date of publication give; the year 1934 from library records. A charming little book about an apothecary for small animals and insects. Scarce. In Near Fine- Condition: gold paper slightly chipped at ends of spine; otherwise clean and bright.

New York: Charles E. Graham & Co, 1917. Good +. [12] p.: color illustrations; 26 cm. Wrapper title. Entirely printed on cloth. Wrappers included in page count. No date of publication given. Charles E. Grahm published as Charles E. Graham & Co. in New York from 1917 to 1920. "0425 -- Indestructible Series" -- at lower edge of front wrapper. Contains 6 captioned full-page color illustrations and 6 full-page drawings with brief text. The animals illustrated are: cat, sheep, dog, rabbit, kitten, chickens, calf, donkey, squirrel, and bull. Graham's Indestructible Series is scarce. In Good+ Condition: soiled and creased throughout; complete and intact.

Philadelphia, Pa: Porter & Coates, 1883. Hardcover. Very Good. The first volume in the author's Rod and Gun Series. 352 p.: tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait of the author, 3 leaves of illustrations; 20 cm. Blue cloth with gilt-stamped spine title; black-and-grey-stamped spine and cover illustrations. No dust jacket. Black endpapers. Front free endpaper bears small bookplate of Russel A. Stelle; first blank leaf following bears inscription from Christmas 1912: "Presented to C. Norman Detweiler by S.C. Stelle." Harry Castlemon was the pseudonym of Charles Austin Fosdick (1842-1915), the author of many 3-to-6-volume series for boys published following the Civil War. This volume presents the adventures of Don Gordon and his brother Hubert at Bridgeport Military Academy. In Very Good Condition: edges are rubbed; head of spine just starting to fray; cover slightly soiled; slightly shaken; otherwise clean and tight.

Altrincham, Eng: John Sherratt & Son, 1947. Hardcover. Very Good. Crane, Walter. [10], 245 p.: frontispiece and 10 additional leaves of color wood-engraved plates; 22 cm. Red cloth with black spine title; blue and black cover title and illustration. Printed at the St. Ann's Press, Timperley, Altrincham. No date of publication; the publisher, John Sherratt & Son was established out of Sherratt & Hughes in 1947. In Very Good Condition: lower edge of front board slightly faded; back board slightly soiled; pages and illustrations are clean and bright.