Children's Books from John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller
Children's Books from John Windle.
By Michael Stillman
John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller's 41st catalogue is dedicated to our childhood. It is entitled Children's Books. This catalogue will bring you back to the days of your youth. Well, not really. These children's books are mostly from the 19th century or early 20th. You would have to be really old to have read these books as a child. Certainly some of the stories will be familiar, as they were republished again and again. We all grew up with big bad wolves and bears in three sizes. Other stories, such as one which tells us how to distinguish a parrot from a carrot may be cute, but didn't stand the test of time. No matter. This catalogue is filled with magical tales and the innocence of youth. We cannot go back, but we can look back. Windle is ready to take us on a trip through time to the days when we were very young.
Item 34 takes us all the way back to the time before Goldilocks' hair turned gold. Unlike most people, whose hair turns from gold to silver as they get older, Goldilock's hair changed from silver to gold. When Routledge published The Three Bears, with illustrations by Walter Crane, the lead human character's name was still Silverlocks. Perhaps those of you over 133 already knew that, but I was never aware that Goldilocks was ever anything but Goldilocks until I picked up Windle's catalogue. Priced at $550.
Here is a title you may not instantly recognize: The History of Mother Twaddle and the Marvellous Atchievements of her son Jack, by H.A.C. You will instantly recognize that winning spelling bees was not among Jack's achievements. However, Mother Twaddle's boy was a good climber. This is the first American edition of the story we know better as "Jack and the Beanstalk." The year was 1809 when this classic was first published in Philadelphia. Item 54. $6,750.
Item 73 may be another first appearance. Circa 1813, and published in London, it is Peter Piper's Practical Principles of Plain and Perfect Pronunciation. This is either the first or a very early edition of this book of tongue twisters. It provided the first recitation of the famous line, "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." $1,750.
We'll continue our firsts with the first Raggedy Ann book, Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees. This is a first edition of the first Raggedy Ann book, and Windle notes that it has never been out of print since first published in 1924. Item 52, by Johnny Gruelle. $875.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
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Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
