Orrin Schwab Books
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List of Scarce and Rare Children's Books
Last Updated July 22, 2010
1. Alger, Horatio. ROUGH
AND READY: OR, LIFE AMONG THE NEW YORK NEWSBOYS. Philadelphia,
John C. Winston Company: 1897. 300 pages. Green illustrated cloth covers with
spine title in gold. There is shelf wear to the spine edges and corners. The
front end has been repaired with archival glue. Be clean and tight copy. Above
average condition for this early Horatio Alger title. $28.00
2. Alger, Horatio. SLOW
AND SURE: FROM THE STREET TO THE SHOP. Philadelphia,
Porter & Coates: 1872. 280 pages. Brown pattern-stamped cloth covers with
gold decorated spine. There is slight shelf wear only to the spine edges and
corners. The pages are browned a bit at the edges. The hinges are sound, with
only a hint of cracking. Overall a near very good condition copy of this early
Horatio Alger title. The verso of the title page has 1872 as the printing date.
$70.00
3. Bacon, Peggy. THE
GOOD AMERICAN WITCH. New York, Franklin Watts:
1957. 1st Edition. 222 pages. First printing. Shelf wear to spine edges and
corners. Dust jacket has small tears and chips to the edges. This is a very
scarce dust jacket. $100.00
4. Biggers, Earl Derr. INSPECTOR
CHARLIE CHAN SOLVES A NEW MYSTERY. Racine, WI,
Whitman Publishing Co.: 1940. 424 pages. Some shelf wear to binding and rubbing
to spine and corners. Corners slightly bumped. Corners are slightly bumped.
$115.00
5. Brill, George Reiter. RHYMES
OF THE GOLDEN AGE. Illustrated by George Reiter Brill. Philadelphia,
Edward Stern & Company: 1908. 123 pages. Shelf wear and rubbing to spine
edges and corners. A clean and tight copy. Original verse and beautiful color
illustrations throughout by noted illustrator George Reiter Brill. Very scarce
title. $125.00
6. Brown, Abbie Farwell. SONGS
OF SIXPENCE. Boston, Houghton, Mifflin: 1914.
Shelf wear, else near VG in dust jacket with small chips to edges. D.j. also has
soiling and a small round chip missing on the front panel. Scarce dust jacket.
$40.00
7. Byington, Eloise. MOTHER
GOOSE FUN. MORE STORIES IN RHYME. Illustrated by Kathllen Stowell Frantz. Chicago,
Albert Whitman & Company: 1931. 128 pages. Shelf wear to binding and rubbing
to spine and corners. Some soiling to edges of covers. Pictorial color
illustration on the front cover. Nicely illustrated in color throughout. A
scarce Mother Goose title. $45.00
8. Cardell, William S. THE
BOY OF PRINCIPLE, THE MAN OF HONOR: OR, THE STORY OF JACK HALYARD. Philadelphia,
Uriah Hunt & Son: 1854. Shelf wear to spine & edges, with small chips
& tears at spine. Some fading to spine. Corners slightly bumped. Former
Sunday School label inside front cover. Small label remnant on spine. $40.00
9. David McKay Company. ROBIN
HOOD. Illustrated by N.C. Wyeth. Philadelphia,
David Mckay: 1917. 362 pages. Title page states 1917 at the bottom. In rare dust
jacket. Book has shelf wear to spine edges. Slight fading to the gold on the
spine title. The dust jacket has tears to the edges and chips missing from the
top of the spine and the back panel. D.j. is also soiled on the white portions
of the panels and spine. Nice d..j illustration Robin Hood and his merry men in
Sherwood Forest. $250.00
10. Deming, Edwin Willard & Therese O.
Deming. LITTLE INDIAN FOLK. New
York, Frederick A. Stokes: 1899. 1st Edition. Oblong illustrated
paper-over-boards on front and back covers.. Red cloth spine. Shelf wear to
spine edges, corners and edges of boards. Some rubbing to covers. A few small
soiled spots to cover. Binding is tight, hinges are sound and pages are clean
and free from tears or marks. A very nice copy of a scarce book. With 9
full-page color illustrations and numerous other smaller black-and white
illustrations by noted Native American artist E.W. Deming. 10056add. $150.00
11. Disney, Walt. MICKEY
MOUSE, RUNS HIS OWN NEWSPAPER. Racine, WI, Whitman
Publishing: 1937. 292 pages. Shelf wear to binding and rubbing to spine and
corners. Slight soiling to the covers. Binding is a bit cocked. Hinges and text
block are clean and tight. A solid copy of a scarce Big Little book. $75.00
12. Donaldson, Lois. KARL'S
WOODEN HORSE. Illustrated by Annie Bergmann. Chicago,
Laidlaw Brothers: 1931. Original blue cloth covers show shelf wear to the spine
edges and corners. Corners are rubbed. There is a color illustration on the
front cover. The cover has some soiling and smudges. Binding is tight and the
pages are clean. Scarce title. Beautifully illustrated in color by Annie
Bergmann. $85.00
13. Evans, C.S. (Illustrated by Rackham,
Arthur). THE SLEEPING BEAUTY. Philadelphia
& London, J.B. Lippincott and William Heinemann: 1920. 110 pages.
Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. Heavy shelf wear to the spine and corners, with
corners rubbed through and some of the cardboard missing on the corners. Spine
is faded a bit and there are some scuffs and soiled spots on the binding. The
binding is tight and the contents are complete. Beautiful silhouette
illustrations throughout the book by Arthur Rackham. There is also a color
tipped-in frontispiece. $90.00
14. Foote, Mary Hallcock. THE
LITTLE FIG-TREE STORIES. New York, Houghton,
Mifflin: 1899. Wear to spine and extremities. Some fading to binding. Corners
rubbed through. Some soiling to covers. Binding tight. $12.50
15. Fryer, Jane Eayre. THE
MARY FRANCES FIRST AID BOOK. With Ready Reference List of Ordinary Accidents and
Illnesses, and Approved Home Remedies. Merchantville,
New Jersey, Privately Printed: 1916. 1st Edition. 144 pages. Blue cloth covers
with illustrated paper illustration affixed to the front cover. There is some
shelf wear and rubbing to the spine edgs and the corners. The text block is
cracking in one spot, but still holding nicely. The pages are clean. Includes a
fold-out insert demonstrating how to make a sanitary drinking cup out of a piece
of paper. $80.00
16. Hare, Anne. THE
WOLLOPORS' FIELD DAY. Illustrated by Harry L. Miller. Chicago,
Saalfield: 1910. Some wear and rubbing to spine and corners. Small tear to paper
near bottom of spine. Some soiling to covers. Scarce title. $30.00
17. Hofland, Mrs. THE
AFFECTIONATE BROTHERS. A TALE. Boston, Munroe and
Francis: 1831. Red leather spine with marbled paper over board covers. Wear and
rubbing to board edges and spine extremities. Slight darkening and a few scuffs
to leather. A tight, clean copy. The authoress was a prolific English writer,
mostly of didactic children's stories. This particular title is quite didactic
and children were sure to get the point quickly. $35.00
18. Hornibrook, Isabel. GIRLS
OF THE MORNING-GLORY CAMP FIRE. Boston, Lothrop,
Lee & Shepard: 1916. Some shelf wear. Corners slightly bumped. Scarce. A
nice pictorial cover. $33.00
19. Jay, B.F. UNCLE
BEN JAY'S JUMBLE-JUNGLE: OVER 300,000 COMPOSITE ANIMALS AND JUMBLED JINGLES. New
York, B.F. Jay: 1942. This copy has been tape repaired with clear strapping tape
on the inner hinges front and back. The spiral wire was broken in one place and
it has been glued and taped into position. Tape marks and scars across the edges
of the boards near the spine. Shelf wear to the board edges and the corners.
Contents complete. Still a very nice item with all movable page sections. A
delightful book. Sold as is. $75.00
20. Knapp, George L.. THE QUEST OF THE GOLDEN CITIES. New York, Dodd, Mead: 1924. That pages. Signed by the author. Slight shelf wear and a couple of faded spots to front covers. The dust jacket has some soiling and chips and tears around the edges. $25.00
21. Kunhardt, Dorothy Meserve. TINY
NONSENSE STORIES . Complete set of twelve story books. New
York, Simon and Schuster: 1949. This is the complete set of 12 pitcher volumes.
They are housed in the original publisher's box, but the folding half of the
boxes missing. The box has heavy wear and some chips and tears. The books have
wear to the spines and covers, but are tightly bound and overall the books are
in nice condition. A scarce set in the Tiny Golden Books series. $75.00
22. McCloskey, Robert. TIME
OF WONDER. Illustrated by the author. Signed by the author. New
York, Viking: 1957. This copy is signed by the author on the title page. Shelf
wear and some discoloration to the edges of the binding. The top right front
corner is bumped. The dust jacket has some older Scotch tape repairs along the
top and bottom panels, and some on the spine. There are a few chips missing from
the jacket edges, and a skinny length of jacket missing (about 5" long by
1/2" to 1" wide) and a few closed tears. Jacket is also worn at the
folds. The Caldecott medal is on the front cover. Rare signed first edition. A
wonderful children's book. $375.00
23. Price, Christine. TALKING
DRUMS OF AFRICA. Illustrated by the author. New
York, Atheneum: 1973. 1st Edition. 48 pages. First edition in dust jacket. The
book and jacket have slight shelf wear to the edges. There are a couple of small
chips to the edge of the dust jacket. Overall a beautiful copy of this important
children's book. $100.00
24. Rackham, Arthur. THE
ARTHUR RACKHAM FAIRY BOOK. London, George G.
Harrap: 1933. 1st Edition. 287 pages. This is the signed, limited edition of 460
copies, of which this is #358. Signed in ink by Arthur Rackham. White vellum
binding. The vellum shows some soiling, as is common with most vellum bindings.
The spine has a small repaired crack at the bottom. No chips or pieces missing
from the spine or covers. There is moderate shelf wear to the spine edges. The
binding is clean and tight. A very sound copy. With all 8 color illustrations
and many black-and-white and silhouette illustrations throughout by Arthur
Rackham. A wonderful children's illustrated book. $1500.00
25. Rae, John. WHY.
REFLECTIONS FOR CHILDREN. Verse and pictures by John Rae. New
York, Dodd, Mead: 1910. First American edition. Binding shows wear to spine
& corners. Some scuffing to covers. Complete with original mirror in
front pocket inside front cover. A delightful and quite rare children's book.
The text is written in the form of a question on one page and the answer written
in mirror-image on the opposite page. The mirror is then held up to the
backwards print and the answer can be deciphered. This book is complete. A few
pages have fingerprint smudges and some soiling. The instructions on the back of
the mirror state "The reversed pages in this book can be read by reflecting
them in the mirror which can be removed by pressing the finger through the
question mark in the front of the cover. $150.00
26. Randolph, Althea. A
BOUQUET OF RHYMES FOR CHILDREN: VERSES BY RANDOLPH. Illustrated by Isabel
Whitney. New York, Bonnell Silver & Company:
1909. First American edition. Large pictorial binding. Wear to spine and board
edges. Some soiling to binding and discoloration. Binding is tight and
contents complete. With beautiful full-page illustrations in color. A wonderful
children's book. $75.00
27. Rue, Flora C. THE
COCOA DANCER. Illustrated by Gladys Rourke Blackwood. Chicago,
Albert Whitman & Co. : 1945. Spine and edges shelf-worn, with some fraying
to edges. Corners rubbed. Some scuffing to binding. The binding is tight and
contents complete. One page has quite a bit of tape repair with Scotch tape.
Crayon scribbles to back endpages, but not affecting the text. Scarce children's
book. $20.00
28. Schwarz, Sylvia W. A
WINDOW BOX OF VERSE. Illustrated by Kurt Wiese. New
York, Samuel Gabriel & Company: 1930. First American edition. Some wear to
spine and corners, else near VG. Slight soiling to covers. $35.00
29. Segar, E. C. POPEYE'S
ARK. ADAPTED FROM THE FAMOUS NEWSPAPER COMIC SERIES. New
York, Saalfield: 1936. Shelf wear to binding and rubbing to spine and corners.
Spine is missing. Covers are loosening a bit, but still firmly attached. Some
soiled spots. A very scarce book. Written with a utopian theme using Popeye as a
Biblical Noah character. Rare, condition noted. $55.00
30. Skinner, Eleanor L, and Ada M.
Skinner. CHILDREN'S PLAYS. New
York, D. Appleton: 1918. Some shelf wear. Corners bumped. Front hinge
cracked. Back hinge is starting to crack. Binding is tight. $15.00
31. Wright, Dare. EDITH
AND BIG BAD BILL: A LONELY DOLL STORY. New York,
Random House: 1968. Large photo-illustrated hardback covers. Some shelf wear to
binding and rubbing to spine and corners. Corners are slightly bumped. Overall a
nice copy. Binding is tight and the pages are clean and free from defects. A
scarce title in the Edith the Doll series. $125.00