•  Rosenbach, Children, 418; Welch 431; Shaw & Shoemaker 20192; German Language Printing in the U.S. 1770; Hamilton, Early American Book Illustrators, 1406. Not in Pomeroy, Alexander Anderson.   Very nice copy in original light boards covered with salmon-colored paper. Light age-toning and light scattered foxing.  (36290)

•  Renouard, Alde, 73.9; Brunet, II, 1523; Adams G344; Graesse, Trésor de Livres Rares, III, p. 45; Schweiger, Handbuch der classischen Bibliographie, II, p. 376; on Egnazio, see: Contemporaries of Erasmus, pp. 424–25.   18th-century vellum over boards with red and green gilt leather spine labels, one edge with one very small chip to vellum; fore-edge of title-page repaired, light age-toning, a few words in old ink to front endpapers, some unevenly trimmed pages with the occasional (chiefly light) marginal stain or spot. “A. Gellius” in old ink to fore-edge of volume. A worthy Aldine.  (37243)

The additional engraved title-page, done by P. Sluyter after a design by J. Groere, depicts the author at work on a moonlit night, and is decorated with medallions of Athena and her owl; the title-page is printed in red and black, with an engraved vignette of an Attic city.

Binding: Prize binding (without certificate) of contemporary vellum, covers framed and panelled in double blind fillets with gilt-stamped corner fleurons, gilt-stamped medallion on each cover showing a scimitar-wielding knight bearing two crossed keys on his shield, supported by monkeys and surmounted by lounging figures grasping snakes. Spine with gilt-ruled raised bands, gilt-stamped compartment decorations, and early inked title.

•  Brunet, II, 1524; Graesse, II, 46; Schweiger, II, 379.   Binding as above, small areas of discoloration, ties now lacking; front hinge (inside) very unobtrusively reinforced. Front pastedown with affixed slip of old cataloguing, partially obscuring an early inked annotation. Title-page with shadows of pencilled numeral and publication annotation. Some margins darkened or with mild spotting, pages otherwise clean, and all edges red.  (25963)

Provenance:  From the children's book collection of Albert A. Howard, sans indicia.

•  Publisher's printed paper wrappers, slightly faded, spine rubbed; front wrapper and first few leaves with horizontal crease. Pages with light offsetting, otherwise clean.  (41178)

16 steel-engraved maps

While the title-page gives the Boston publication line described above, the printed front cover gives Philadelphia: Thomas, Cowperthwait, & Co., 1838; this is a later edition, following the first of 1832.

A first impression is that “child” readers had, in 1832, much greater powers of attention to print than is now common, but indeed the history here is — the stories are — absorbing and evocative.

•  American Imprints 50587.   Publisher's quarter sheep and printed green paper–covered boards, rubbed and worn; pages cockled and foxed, yet paper good and untattered. One page with stray ink marks, not obstructing legibility. A good, solid, pleasing copy.  (33716)

Provenance: From the children's book collection of American collector Albert A. Howard, sans indicia.

•  American Imprints 40-16. Not in Gumuchian, not in Opie, not in Osborne Collection.   Sewn as issued, sewing loosening; front wrapper lacking, back wrapper with short tear from spine, corners rubbed. Pages age-toned and faintly foxed with a smudge or two only; free of markings or other signs of childish usage.  (41159)

•  Contemporary speckled sheep, spine with gilt-stamped leather title label; spine and edges lightly rubbed. Occasional pencilled marginalia and emphasis marks, confined to the first half of the work. (12103)

The broadside showcases Walter Hamady's inimitable style, both textually and typographically: The header is a jumble of decorative letters from the words “John's Apples,” and faint shadow text runs behind the main body of text, which in addition to the statements of purpose includes a pithy comment from the painter's ten-year-old granddaughter. The printing was done in gray-green, red, and black on cream-colored handmade paper with one deckle edge.

The typed sheet, which starts out with “Some critical acclaim and just plain comments about John's Apples aka the apple book,” offers blurbs and quirky reader responses to John's Apples. While this is a fairly simple and straightforward production by the Perishable Press's standards, Hamady clearly could not resist at least a touch of his usual flair, typing a number of lines in diagonal directions with reckless disregard for the straight and level.

•  Broadside with two nearly invisible mailing folds; one corner very slightly creased, otherwise unworn and clean. Sheet likewise with mailing folds, otherwise crisp and fresh. Appealing and uncommon Perishable Press ephemera.  (31234)

The sheets are printed on Plover Fineweave paper with the text set in Sabon Antiqua. At the head of each is a print of a nicely rendered pen-and-ink drawing of the Hamady farm (where “Mother Father & Daughter are well and thriving”), done by Jack Beal (“Laura's Uncle Jack”).

•  Not in Two Decades of Hamady & the Perishable Press.   Sheets laid into a manila envelope labelled in Hamady's handwriting. Clean and crisp; some pages with markings as above.  (31364)

•  Syntax: Moon, John Harris's Books for Youth, 766(4); see also Osborne Collection, p. 630 and Gumuchian 1948 & 1949. Hubbard: Gumuchian 4329; Moon, 560(4); see Osborne pp. 683/84 (for 1st and 2nd eds).   19th-century half vellum and marbled paper–covered sides; paper rubbed, vellum darkened, upper outer corner bumped, none of this awful. Pages lightly age-toned and faintly creased, otherwise clean. An attractive copy, andearly editions of these beloved classics are now uncommon.  (40758)

Provenance:  Inscribed to a Philadelphia social club “from the President & Fellows of Harvard University,” signed by Josiah Quincy.

•  American Imprints 1772 & 7465; Sabin 30729 (vols. 1–3) & 30730 (maps).   Publisher's quarter cloth and tan paper–covered sides, spines with printed paper labels; worn and soiled/stained but sound, with spines sunned and front lower outer corner of vol. I chipped. Ex–social club library: 19th-century bookplates, endpapers with call number, rubber-stamp on title-pages and a few others, no other markings. Front free endpaper of vol. I with inked inscription as above.  (26904)

During the heyday of the fine press movement in America, theGrabhorns printed this handsome edition in 240 copies with illustration and title-page vignette drawn and then hand-colored by the indefatigableValenti Angelo.

•  Heller & Magee, Grabhorn, 93; BAL 7720; Clark A18.31.   Publisher's quarter vellum with gold and blue patterned paper sides. In its slipcase, a bit darkened at edges. Unopened copy save one fold to show illustration; a fine copy.  (33532)

Present here is an early U.S. edition of the first series; two series were published, the first in 1847–49 and the second in 1859. Much of the second volume of this series is dedicated to the question of slavery.

•  Allibone 818. On Helps, see: Dictionary of National Biography online.   Publisher's blind-stamped brown cloth, spines with gilt-stamped title; moderate rubbing most noticeable at vol. I spine head, and vol. II with strip of dark cloth tape at head of spine extending onto sides. Ex–social club library: front pastedowns with 19th-century bookplate and call-number sticker, front free endpapers lacking, title-pages pressure-stamped, no other markings. Pages age-toned, with intermittent spots of staining and light pencilled bracketing.  (26412)

Provenance:  Rolle family armorial bookplate.

•  ESTC R10688; Wing (rev.) H1578; Allibone 813.   Contemporary sheep, covers framed in blind double fillets; leather rubbed and scuffed, partially cracked along front joint. All edges marbled. Pastedowns peeled up, front pastedown with early inked inscription; inside front cover with armorial bookplate. Title-page with inked numeral in upper outer corner. (21012)

Provenance:  Signature of John Duncrist in upper margin of front wrapper; most recently in the children's book collection of Albert A. Howard, sans indicia.

•  Cf. Osborne Collection p. 631.   Original printed green wrappers; wrappers in past separated from text block and expertly reattached. Light staining in some inner margins. A very nice copy.  (38799)

NUC and WorldCat locate only two libraries worldwide reporting ownership (National Library of Scotland, Princeton).

Provenance:  From the chapbook collection of Albert A. Howard, sans indicia.

•  Publisher's green wrappers, slight discoloration and a little paper loss at spine. Clean.  (38786)

One signature at the back is unopened.

•  NSTC 2H10236.   Publisher's light yellow printed paper wrappers, removed from a nonce volume. Clean, crisp, unread copy.  (31946)

This work includes afrontispiece and five in-text wood engravings signed by Edward Whymper (1840–1911), an Arctic explorer and mountaineer best known for being the first to successfully ascend the Matterhorn.

•  Publisher's green printed wrappers, soiling and splitting along spine; one leaf separated, a light pencil mark or two, a handful of bent corners.  (36537)

Provenance:  From the children's book collection of Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.

•  Buff-color printed wrappers with hand-colored vignette on front wrapper; stitched, head and foot of spine chipped, rear wrapper detached and reattached with archival tissue. A good++ copy.  (38873)

“Jack Whirler's Alphabet — 'Jack Whirler' being Dr. Johnson's nickname for John Newbery, the firm's famous founder — was inspired by the engaging alphabets the Newberys published, which must have made learning to read such fun. It concludes with a prose nonsense poem from one of the most famous of all Newberys, The Renowned History of Giles Gingerbread.”

Each letter is represented by two Newbery blocks (“M is for Moon and Mine”); the facing text provides information on the origin of the illustrations, some of which are by Bewick.

•  Publisher's white pictorial wrappers with navy blue illustrations and navy blue lettering to spine; very faint dirtying to one corner of front wrapper. Interior is bright and clean. (38679)

•  Quarto in publisher's purple cloth with gilt-stamped title on front cover, miniatures in red, crimson, and violet ribbon-stamped cloth with gilt-stamped title on front covers, the whole in a purple cloth–covered clamshell case with compartments for each book; case with very slight sunning and ISBN label to back cover. All volumes clean, crisp, and unworn. (40870)

•  Publisher's printed cream-colored paper wrappers, front wrapper with cornucop ia design in navy and gold; back lower outer corner bumped, light dust-soiling to back wrapper. One page with small affixed sticker in upper portion, partially obscuring header but no other text.  (30227)