Welcome to Old Children's Books, selling children's literature and picture books online since 1994. We stock more than 10,000 scarce, collectible and out-of-print books, for readers, teachers and collectors.
Alphabet Books
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Philadelphia: American Sunday School Union; nd (c 1830); green cloth back multi-coloured marbled boards with gilt titles on spine, 2.9x4.25; 16 + 16 pp.
A miniature book. Also: Rules for Reading. Read slowly/Read thoughtfully/Review what you read/Read but few Books and those the Best/Read with a View to Improvement rather than Amusement. Note: This book has been sold.
CONDITION: Very Good Plus; neat pencil name; 3/8" page tear nr gutter, top board warped with tiny rubs, else in remarkable, bright condition.
#16096
$90.00
2010-04-16 21:59
New York: McLoughlin Bros. (1884), publication data is on the very bottom edge; three folded linen sheets making ten interior pages, coloured Arts and Crafts inspired design on front and back with little girl reading and playing with her doll, red letters, three to a page, with woodcuts of daily objects, 4"x5.75".
Sweet pictures of the little girl on the front, with what appear to be older stock woodcuts to illustrate the letters.
CONDITION: Good Minus; cover faded, corners deeply creased, slightly frayed, small stains and foxing throughout, rusted staples, pencil line on one spread, and child has converted number line 0 to 10, still the covers are adequate and the interior red letters bright.
#17530
$45.00
2010-04-16 21:59
New York, McLoughlin Bros., no date, (c. mid 1880's?), no number or series, 3 folded sheets making ten interior pages, front cover with young child and baby pulling on a book, another book already destroyed on the floor, and, on the back cover, a rather bizarre scene with a blonde man in Japanese costume holding a little girl in a trailing dress, the four interior alphabet pages are full colour very bright chromos perhaps inspired by earlier woodcuts, the other pages are the primer's text; on fine linen cut on straight of goods; 5.75"x8.25".
A first primer, with three examples of each initial letter sound in the small pictures "Quaker, Quail, Quiver" and CVC words and sentences to practice on, ending with a simple story. The front cover gives an interesting message about the value of learning to read!
CONDITION: Good; faded, flecked front cover, small pencil initials on back and number on front corner, top corners are bent but not creased, no fraying, interior coloured pictures very bright.
#17531
$40.00
2010-04-16 21:59
Prentice-Hall, 1976, 1st printing; c.44 pp.
An ABC adapted from an old jump-rope rhyme, nicely illustrated. Please note: THIS BOOK HAS BEEN SOLD
CONDITION: Very Good in Very Good jacket; name & address on half title, half inch tear & wrinkle dw back; unclipped 6.95.
#6266
$12.00
2010-01-01 01:00
Paris: Flammarion, 1960?/1936; blue card wraps with front and back view of animals sitting in an alphabet box, endpapers with small word cards for each letter, insert of large and small letters and words on card, 9 3/8" x 11".
A later, and harsher, printing of Rojankovsky's elegant animal lithos from the 30's. Directions for the mother to play with the alphabet pieces are included in the back, in French. PLEASE NOTE: This book has been sold.
CONDITION: Very Good; no names, exterior boards darkening on edges, interior very nice and clean.
#14296
$60.00
2010-04-16 21:59
New York: Frederick A. Stokes September 3, 1941/September 25, 1941, stated 2nd printing; blue pictorial cloth boards with red and brown nativity scene, just the baby and the animals; white endpapers with blue cherubs head with wings, 5.7x6.25; np.
A very simple little book with elegant prints in the style of linoleum block or even silk screen. Grace Hogarth was a children's book editor on both sides of the Atlantic. A favorite from my childhood. Please note: THIS BOOK HAS BEEN SOLD
CONDITION: Very Good in Fair jacket; attractive coloured contemporary bookplate with neat owner signature, bottom edges rubbed and a bit of darkening under jacket chip, but otherwise very tight, clean, and unwrinkled inside and out, good quality paper; jacket is darkening and brittle, with edgewear including 2" missing piece from spine and long, creased closed tear on back; unclipped $1.00.
#19274
$72.00
2010-04-17 15:19
New York: Frederick A. Stokes September 3, 1941/September 25, 1941, stated 2nd printing; blue pictorial cloth boards with red and brown nativity scene, just the baby and the animals; white endpapers with blue cherubs head with wings, 5.7x6.25; np.
A very simple little book with elegant prints in the style of linoleum block or even silk screen. Grace Hogarth was a children's book editor on both sides of the Atlantic. A favorite from my childhood. Note: This book has been sold.
CONDITION: Good Plus without jacket; no names or other marks, dirty finger marks on fep; otherwise quite clean with light wrinkles on almost all pages.
#19306
$42.00
2011-04-11 12:25
New York: Henry N. Abrams, 1989/1988; translated from the Dutch; green shiny boards with large painting of the Sandman and yawning animals; yellow endpapers with colourful design; heavy paper and boards, in jacket identical to boards, 10.2x8.2; 121 pp.
Easily found in your local bookstore, but an interesting alphabet nonetheless, featuring an assortment of large, sleepy animals.
CONDITION: Very Good in Near Fine jacket; gift inscription on half title; bumped bottom corner, pages also, little bumps on top edge.
#19276
$5.00
2010-04-17 15:19
New York: Pantheon, 1968, 1st nap, yellow cloth boards with green leaf endpapers, in cream jacket with leaves and the little bee, 10.2x10.9; np.
When the wind scattered the frightened letters from their leaves, a funny bug taught them to make words and stick together, "But not good enough," said the purple caterpillar. "You must say something Important". NOTE: This book has been sold.
CONDITION: Very Good in Fair jacket; no names, clean with slight slant, few light wrinkles on the beginning pages, but pages otherwise clean and crisp; in mottled, edgecreased jacket with 2 tears to 2", 2x1/2" chip from front to spine; unclipped 3.95.
#19279
$42.00
2010-04-17 15:19
New York: Macmillan, 1941, stated 1st; blue cloth boards, orange-red endpapers, in jacket with huge eagle protecting a sleeping boy and a little girl; 8x10"; np.
O is for Old Glory. Q is for Quakers. R is for Redskins. S is for South America and Simon Bolivar. A little essay on each.
CONDITION: Very Good in Very Good Plus jacket; gift inscription from Feb. 1942 on endpaper; all is clean, straight, and fairly tight, but Maurice unfortunately turned the pages from the bottom and loved this book, thus there are light wrinkles to the bottom page margins; in clean flat jacket with small sticker stain on front, and small nick in spine, smooth edges, no chips or tears; unclipped $2.00.
#19275
$85.00
2010-04-17 15:19
New York: McLoughlin, 1905, three very stiff glazed linen sheets, folded and center stapled, making 12 pages; little girl on front, plain back, every sheet has full colour letters and little paintings to go with them, as well as numbered lessons that go from sight words, to CV words to CVC words to little stories at the end; 5.4x8.25
A charming redheaded child on the front and an interesting primer, a variant of an older one (uses Xerxes and Obelisk).
CONDITION: Fair, Christmas gift inscription 1907; structurally quite sound, with just a bit of fraying, but extremely soiled throughout, especially on covers and first half of book.
#19019
$12.00
2010-04-17 17:28
London: Methuen & Co. 1967/1967, 1st printing UK; red boards, yellow teddy, yellow endpapers; 21x 21.5 cm; np.
A large letter on one side and a large clear picture on the other, just right for someone actually learning the alphabet.
CONDITION: Very Good; yellow cloth spine evenly soiled, slight splay, printer's error on pig page, otherwise tight with pages and boards clean and flat.
#17095
$90.00
2010-04-16 21:59
Coward, 1971/1971, 2nd; 10.3x8.3, np.
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CONDITION: Very Good without jacket; EX-LIBRARY with few marks.
#3796
$26.00
2010-01-01 01:00
Barcelona: Editorial Lumen, 1981/1971, segunda edicion (in Spanish); illustrations for Jessie G. Townsend's English version, 1967, Cape; orange glossy boards with Brigida and Carlos playing near a giant A, on the back a giant Z with Ursula knitting a giraffe scarf; black endpapers with bright blue letter outlines and child; 9.5x9.6"; 24.4x24.6cm; np.
Each letter has an original little poem in Spanish about each active child and a large facing coloured illustration. A es para Aurora, B es para Brigida.
CONDITION: Very Good Plus; tiny rubs on extrem tips, 2 nicks on edges, otherwise clean and straight with flat pages and straight corners, opens freely, 4 x 1 cm publisher's pull tear from pasting down on front endpapers.
#19277
$28.00
2010-04-17 15:19
Holt Rinehart, from a Viking 1946 collection, 1963, 1st printing thus illustrated. Blue grey cloth boards w unicorn, 5.25 square, pict endpapers; 22 pp.
Written for the poet's daughter, mysterious illustrations weave through this little book. "E for the faceless Egg, Easter with dancing suns/And E for Ermines worn by kings in cars/ By guilty, light-haired, pale-eyed player queens."
CONDITION: Near Fine in Good jacket; in sl soiled dw w folds very rubbed and creased, affecting text on spine, half inch tear, and initial on front flap.
#12247
$10.00
2010-04-16 21:59
Chicago: Rand McNally, 1930/1929; the first printing of the first edition of this book was in 1929 (Baumgarten); green boards with dark green titles and large plate in stamped border, on endpapers, coloured pictures of babies and their hornbooks and poem; 6.8x9.1; 64 pp.
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CONDITION: Very Good Plus; owner inscription and also child's name in half title hornbook "bookplate"; very light bumps to spine ends, light rubs to corners, remarkably clean and undamaged pasted-on plate.
#17357
$150.00
2010-04-16 21:59
New York: Lodestar Books, Dutton, 1993. 1st printing US.; paper engineering by Rodger Smith, Helen Balmer; white laminated boards with bright pop-up dinosaurs, 5 spreads; 11.2"x 10.9".
Open the eggs and "prehistoric creatures come to life" in this alphabet book. Exciting colours and lots to do on each page. No text, just names.Please note: THIS BOOK HAS BEEN SOLD
CONDITION: Near Fine without jacket; crease on large blue pulldown egg.
#14888
$32.00
2010-04-16 21:59
Simon & Schuster, 1995,1st printing. 8.75x11.4; c 54 pp.
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CONDITION: Fine in Fine jacket; as new; perfect condition, unclipped, no corner rubs, no flaws.
#7580
$60.00
2010-01-01 01:00
No publication data,(c. 1915?) paper cover with illustration of boy teaching a group of children sitting on a log, paper is pasted to stiff card back, 4 folded pages, making 16 interior pages, printed on one side only (8 coloured pages); 4.25"x6.3".
A little Sunday School Prize book, probably from a German American community, with a medal pasted on a blank page, "Little Cross Crown System, For Increasing Sunday School Attendance Official Seal" along with the purple ribbon, laid in, which must have come with it. The coloured lithos of shaded fruits, vegetables, and common household items are really quite beautiful.
CONDITION: Very Good; lightly soiled covers, two tiny chipped spots on front of about 1/16", interior is pristine.
#17532
$35.00
2010-04-16 21:59
New York: Sam'l Gabriel Sons, (1923); #864, Linette. 4 large sheets sewn and folded, making 14 interior pages; cover with children on a gate feeding the baby calf carrots; sweet donkey and her baby on the back; 9.75x11.75".
Eight gentle, large pictures of farm animals, including a lovely white draft horse and her baby, and a nice mother Pointer and her puppies; smaller drawings for each letter of the alphabet in burnt sienna and orange, which look to be by the same artist.
CONDITION: Very Good; corners rubbed and a little bumped, crease half inch in on front bottom corner, wrinkle line, not a crease, on front sheet more visible in side light; some publisher's offsetting, but pages quite clean; generally nice condition.
#17555
$65.00
2010-04-16 21:59
Springfield, MA: McLoughlin Bros., Westfield Classics, (1941); blue top board with colourful letters, yellow bottom board, alphabet endpapers, in jacket identical to boards, full colour or red and black pages; 7.25x9"; np.
Bright diamond shaped cover design. NOTE: THIS BOOK HAS BEEN SOLD.
CONDITION: Very Good Plus in Very Good jacket; name and Sunday School, bumps to spine ends, else clean and straight; in slightly rumpled jacket with light edgewear all round, 1" closed tear; unclipped no price.
#17701
$32.00
2010-04-16 21:59
London: T. Nelson and Sons, [mid 19th c]. W. G. Mason's engraver, elaborately decorated green cloth backed paper boards with gilt over pink and a vignette of mother and three children, perhaps handpainted, with book; dark green glazed endpapers, a page for each letter, one sided, with engraving on coloured field, 7x9.15, tp plus 30 pp.
Six couplets on each page: "P begins Parachute, Palings, and Perch; P is always in chapel , but never in church." etc. with large intricate engraving illustrating some of the items. Queen Victoria looks about 20 here. Please note: THIS BOOK HAS BEEN SOLD
CONDITION: Poor; 19thc names, loose, with large piece of front bottom corner broken off, numeration suggests missing front matter, pages foxed and moderately soiled, with a few tears. An interesting and uncommon piece in terrible condition.
#14262
$25.00
2010-04-16 21:59
Springfield, Mass USA: McLoughlin Bros., Inc. c.1900; glazed linen, 3 sheets forming 10 interior pages; coloured paintings outside; inside, contemporary black and white spreads alternate with full coloured, decorated "old-fashioned" spreads; large 10.25x7".
The children in the black and white pictures with plain graphics ride bicycles and wear short, plain dresses; the coloured pictures look more like romantic Victorian productions, perhaps from Valentine stock, with lutes and sheep with ribbons and bells. A lovely full colour portrait on the cover of a boy in knickers peering through a knothole attended by his patient dog. is on the front cover, a funny child dressed as a man reading a newspaper is on the back. All in all a nice collection of stock illustrations.
CONDITION: Good Minus; no longer folds evenly, very lightly frayed (1/32"), corners creased throughout book, quite darkened with a few small stains, some flecking on margins.
#17527
$45.00
2010-04-16 21:59
New York: McLoughlin Bros. (1899); Little Linen Series, "Printed on Linen; three sheets folded glazed linen, making ten interior pages; on front cover, full colour chromo of seated elder sister sharing a book with her little brother dressed in a blue Fauntleroy suit, interior pages have about three red letters each accompanied by a small drawing; 4.5"x6.5".
Very deep chromolithos with heavy glazing intact and fine drawings, made possible by a finer quality of linen than was used later, although the book is not trimmed on the straight of the goods. The precise drawings give good examples of children's clothing of the time, a change from the woodcuts of the publisher's 1884 ABC. Q shows a portrait of an older Queen Victoria with the baby on her lap. Uncommon, in Worldcat.
CONDITION: Very Good Plus; only light wrinkles and several tiny pale spots (of about 1/32") on back keep this from being fine, our highest grade, no creasing, no fraying or spine wear, no flecking, intense colour, shiny thick original finish, interior pages and staples bright.
#17529
$125.00
2010-04-16 21:59
Akron, Ohio USA: Saalfield Pub. Co., (1921), #2060; three folded Linentex (sim to Linette) sheets, making ten interior pages, black and white rabbit eating a carrot on front, bear on back; center spread and back of one sheet contain large coloured pictures of animals, 8.5x10"
Nice large portraits of Dutch rabbit, a brown bear, a bay horse, a sheared Corriedale sheep, and a Pointer, with simple captions, for example The Dog. The animal portraits themselves are about 8x8". Undistinguished animal couplets for each letter on other pages. Seems to be a short and early version of this book. Please note: THIS BOOK HAS BEEN SOLD
CONDITION: Fair; quite clean, no marks, with corner creases and worn spine, outside cover separated from other sheets, thus grade.
#17550
$10.00
2010-04-16 21:59