Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - February - 2017 Issue

500 Children's and Illustrated Books from Aleph-Bet Books

More books for the children.

Aleph-Bet Books has released their Catalogue 115 of Children's Books & Illustrated Books. Aleph-Bet has a new selection of 500 books, or items related to books, each with a color image along with the description. If you are a collector of children's books, it is totally impossible not to find selections you like. Here are just a few examples of what can be found.

 

We begin with one of those "true firsts," the first appearance of a classic children's story that precedes what is generally thought of as the first edition. Long before Disney reinvented him, Pinocchio was a somewhat darker character when created by Carlo Collodi. Collodi had previously written for adults when he turned his pen toward children's books in the late 1870's. In 1881, the first children's magazine in Italy began to be published. The name was Giornale Per I Bambini, and Collodi was asked to contribute an ongoing story. He did, which at the time carried the title La Storia di un Burattino. It was enthusiastically received as, though containing a moral, it was more built around fantasy than moralisms. It continued intermittently for the next two years. The title changed the following year to the more familiar Le Avventure di Pinocchio. The first edition in book form was published in 1883, but this magazine serial is the true first. Item 112 is a set of the magazine from 1881-1883 containing all of the original Pinocchio adventures. Priced at $25,000.

 

Here is a book we wouldn't expect to see offered to children today. It is an alphabet book, circa 1900. In those days, it was common for companies to create ABC books for children, even when the target of the sales pitch was their parents. Item 1 is Animal Alphabet, created by Wright's Indian Vegetable Co. Also in those days, it was common for creators of phony medicines to pretend they were the creations of some wise old Indian medicine man. Each of the letters is accompanied by a rhyme related to some ailment that can be cured by one of Wright's medicines. There is Peery's Dead Shot Vermifuge that will kill worms, the type that live inside you. Here is a vocabulary lesson - a "vermifuge" is an anthelmintic medicine. What is an "anthelmintic" medicine, you might ask? An anthelmintic is something that kills parasitic worms. Moving on from today's vocabulary lesson is an item that you definitely wouldn't promote for children today – McMunn's Elixer of Opium. It cured sleeplessness and nervous irritation among other ailments. Undoubtedly. This stuff actually secured a U.S. Patent, #70,171, in 1908, and Wright's was at one time a member of the American Medical Association. $275.

 

Here is a piece of artwork you would love to hang on your wall. It is an original watercolor drawing of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. Peter needs no introduction, but this drawing does. Peter had long since grown up and had hundreds of children of his own when it was drawn, circa 1925. Potter was friendly with Anne Carroll Moore, head of the children's library at the New York Public Library. After the First World War, she went to Europe, helping to replenish children's libraries devastated by the war. At one point, she met Potter, which began a friendship that continued the rest of their lives. In 1925, Moore wrote and published a children's book. She sent a copy to Potter. Potter wrote back a letter of appreciation, but noted she had no new book of her own to send in return. So, instead, she sent this original watercolor of Peter, gift flowers in hand, looking as youthful as ever. Item 376. $50,000.

 

"Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh, see. Oh, see Jane. Funny, funny Jane." Want more? There's lots more where this came from in Our Big Book. This is a giant size folio edition of Dick and Jane, because you can never get enough of Dick and Jane. Or Sally, or Spot, or Puff. Actually, Sally is just referred to as "Baby" here. This undated book is circa 1940, which presumably was shortly after she was born. This large edition was meant for teachers to display in the classroom, so the children could never escape their ubiquitous presence. Generations of kids learned to read from these two cliché youngsters, and a few ended up loving to read anyway. Item 137. $1,850.

 

Next is sort of a book. It looks like a book, but it opens into a panorama. Its title is Coronation Procession Panorama. The panorama displays a royal procession. On each page, there is a slot where the reader can insert a figure into the parade. It was published in 1952, and the Queen being honored is Queen Elizabeth. Some things never change. Item 342. $775.

 

Sometimes an author can get so closely associated with one book that we can forget they ever wrote anything else. Robert McCloskey wrote several award-winning children's books, yet he will forever be intimately tied to a particular one – Make Way for Ducklings. Here is one of his others: Blueberries for Sal, published in 1948. This is a first printing of the first edition of what Aleph-Bet tells us is his hardest book to find. Unlike Ducklings, which takes place in Boston, Blueberries is set down east, in Maine. It is a tale where Sal and her mother go picking blueberries. Their story is juxtaposed with that of a bear and her cub who do the same. Item 275. $4,750.

 

Aleph-Bet Books may be reached at 914-764-7410 or Helen@alephbet.com. Their website is found at www.alephbet.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas

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