Boston: Phillips, Sampson & Company, (1857). An early printing (if not the first) of this collection of Rollo stories. 16mo, original gilt-stamped blue cloth, 32 pages. Frontis, illus. From the indefatigable Abbott, a pleasing example of a Rollo title. Phillips, Sampson (the publishers here) failed in 1859, and Rollo was... More about The Rollo Story Books: Rollo in the Woods

Worcester [Mass.]: Edward Livermore, 1847. First Livermore edition of each title. 12mo, original gilt-stamped brown cloth, 72, 72 pages. Illus. Published here in the series “Uncle Thomas’ Stories for Good Children,” an early series from the Worcester publisher Livermore (who had the book printed by Merriam & Mirick in Greenfield... More about Grimalkin, and Little Fido. [Bound with, as published:] Charles’ Journey to France and Other...

Hamilton [New York]: Waldron & Barnum, Printers; Commercial Buildings. Williams, Orton & Co., Eaton Street, [ca. 1834]. First edition? Original pictorial yellow wrappers, 4 x 2.75 inches, 17 pages [i.e., 16 pages]. Illus. A timely and topical tale of a pleasant young orphan raised by his uncle and sent to... More about Charles, the Orphan; or the Obedient Child

Hartford: Published by Oliver D. Cooke, 1820. First edition. Original printed pictorial light brown wrappers, 5.38 x 3 inches, 32 pages. Frontis, illus. The first compilation of these two English pieces. Didactic to a high degree, the “Happy Boatman” being a tale of an industrious and honest ferryman on the... More about Serious Advice to Youth. By the Rev John Mason, A. M. and a Narrative of the Happy Boatman

Philadelphia: Published by Kimber & Conrad, [1812?]. First edition. Original stiff unprinted yellow wrappers, 5.75 x 2.63 inches, [24] pages. Illus. with woodcuts throughout. A curious compendium of woodcut vignettes, assembled seemingly at random (Welch notes a few seem reworked from an 1810 Hosford Robinson Crusoe) and captioned as though... More about A Picture Book for Little Children

Harrisburg, Pa. Gedruckt und zu haben bey G. S. Peters, [ca. 1835-1839?]. Original printed pictorial glazed orange wrappers, 5.88 x 3.5 inches, 16 leaves printed on one side only. Fifteen color-printed illustrations. A nice copy of an early edition of the Peters edition of the Joseph story (the first evidently... More about Die Geschichte Joseph’s und seiner Brüder. Eine biblische Erzählung

Harrisburg, Pa. Printed and Published by G. S. Peters, 1837. Original printed pictorial glazed orange wrappers, 5.75 x 3.5 inches, 18 leaves printed on one side only. Fifteen color-printed illustrations. An early edition of the Peters edition in English of the Joseph story (the first evidently appearing in 1833), from... More about The Life of Joseph; a Scripture Narrative

Philadelphia: Gedruckt bey Jacob Meyer, 1810. First edition in German. Original stiff salmon wrappers, 5.38 x 3.5 inches, 36 pages. Woodcut title-page vignette by Alexander Anderson. The German translation of The Dangers of the Street, and Other Tales (Philadelphia: Jacob Johnson, 1808); wagon, oxen, and horses seem to figure prominently... More about Die Gefahr in den Strassen. Nebst Einigen andern Erzählungen

New-York: Published by D. Longworth, at the Dramatic Repository, Shakespeare-Gallery, 1807. First New York edition of this stage adaptation. Unbound pamphlet, 6.25 x 3.88 inches, 12 pages, stitched. The drama opens with a scene among the gods on Mount Ida—hence the “grand allegorical” scope of this pantomime adaptation of Cinderella... More about Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper, a Grand Allegorical Pantomimic Spectacle. As Performed...

Chicago: Alberts Whitman & Co., 1941. First edition. 12mo, original pictorial cloth, 48 pages. Illus. An ex-library copy, with their scattered stamps and circulation pocket in the rear. Published in the Federal Writers’ Project W.P.A. series of children’s educational books. With a portion of the original dust jacket mounted to..... More about Romance of Rubber. Compiled by Workers of the Writers’ Program of the Work Projects...

New-York: Printed and Sold by Mahlon Day, at the New Juvenile Book-Store, 1828. First edition. Original pictorial orange wrappers, 7.13 x 4.25 inches, 35 pages (including the printed leaves mounted to the wrappers as paste-downs). Illus. An uncommon and attractive publication from Mahlon Day, with numerous wood engravings. OCLC (5/2019) notes four locations. More about Bible Characters, Instructive and Entertaining, Compiled for the Use of Young Children

Philadelphia: Published and Sold by J. Grigg [et al.], 1824. Later American edition. 12mo, original tree calf, red leather label, gilt lettering, 236 pages. 23 plates. First published in London in 1819, with the first American edition appearing in 1820. An important and innovative work of popular science education, a.... More about Conversations on Natural Philosophy, in which the Elements of that Science are Familiarly...

Greenfield: Printed by A. Phelps, 1844. A later edition; the first appeared in 1833. Original red-printed pictorial drab wrappers, 5.13 x 3 inches, 23, [1] pages. Frontis, woodcut illus. “That glory which dazzled me in my days of boyhood, and which I supposed was always the reward of the brave... More about The Farmer and the Soldier. By Mrs. Sigourney