Cloth Books

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(anon). /anon, illustrator.
New York: McLoughlin, (1909); full coloured chromolitho pages "Mounted on Linen", as opposed to printed on linen, front cover showing a dog sitting on a doorstep watching kittens who are lapping spilled milk; 14 interior pages; 9.75x12.25".
Simply beautiful large chromolithos of animals set in landscapes, showing 1+1 through 9+1 and then doubling to 5.
CONDITION: Fair; very worn and chipped on all edges, corners very bent, covers quite dark , narrow interior margins dark, but pictures are bright, scribbles on two center pages affect illustration. An uncommon book, but just about ready to break, I'm afraid. #17554
$28.00
1 year 6 weeks ago
2012-04-02 20:09
Little ABC Book.
ABC (anon)
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
2 years 19 weeks ago
2010-04-16 21:59
Little Pets Linen ABC.
ABC (anon). /anon, illustrator.
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
2 years 19 weeks ago
2010-04-16 21:59
The Nursery ABC
ABC anon.
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
2 years 18 weeks ago
2010-04-17 17:28
Friends on the Farm ABC.
ABC. (anon) /anon, illustrator.
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
2 years 15 weeks ago
2010-04-16 21:59
Little Playmates ABC
ABC. (anon.) /anon, illustrator.
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
2 years 18 weeks ago
2010-04-16 21:59
Little Learner's A.B.C.
ABC. (anon.) /anon, illustrator.
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
2 years 19 weeks ago
2010-04-16 21:59
Let's See the ABC. Peggy Cloth-Books.
ABC. (anon.)
USA: Peggy Cloth-Books, "copyright 1945 Made in USA", on back; "Peggy Cloth-Books, inc CORP 1945 on "verso", no other publishers mentioned, "Peggy Book Number 1" (on spine), a very early Peggy book, three doubled fine muslin sheets, folded and sewn, making 12 pages, pinked edges, 9x7".
Three seals on a stage hold up the ABC, inside most pages have humorous drawings for each letter, two to a page. With contemporary article on this book by Workbook magazine Vol. 16, No. 8, May 1951 laid in, at which point the publisher is still listed as "Peggy Cloth-Books, Inc". (Platt and Munk published these in the 60's) A piece of Americana in lovely condition.
CONDITION: Very Good Plus; no names, appears unwashed, pleasantly toned, light crease on front, crisp pinked edges intact and corners sharp, pale stain on first interior page, otherwise very nice. (In jpg, previous pages show through) #19017
$75.00
2 years 16 weeks ago
2010-04-16 21:59
Birds and Animals. McLoughlin, 1920's.
anon. .
Springfield, Mass: McLoughlin Bros. Inc, no MB, thus 1920-1929, yellow glazed paper mounted on linen with gorgeous red and green parrots and red titles, colourful pheasant-like birds on the back, four large chromolithos, a rooster, a cow, a donkey, and a dog (Newfoundland), on the reverse "linen" side sepia pictures and little poems, 10x12.
A beautiful big book, with what I would assume are older chromolithos inside, a bit fainter than the birds on the cover. The sepia pictures are very nice, all by the same anonymous artist. This large book is constructed with half folio sheets glued together, rather than folded sheets.
CONDITION: Good; no names or other marks, spine cloth worn away to net, staples tight, edges quite lightly frayed all around (could be trimmed), binding firm, covers have little creases but are brilliant, interior bright. Note: Because of the size of this book, I photographed each side of the spread separately and added a blue border. #19312
$85.00
2 years 19 weeks ago
2011-01-07 20:30
The Cow Picture Book. anon. New York: McLoughlin Bros. Inc., #1314, no date. ca
anon. anon, illustrator.
New York: McLoughlin Bros. Inc., #1314, no date; three very stiff fine glazed linen sheets, folded and center stapled, making 12 pages; full colour on outside with painting of cow, 4 interior paintings, 4 drawings, 7.2x10.2.
A serious cow on the cover: Mostly about Guernsey and Holstein cows, with some sheep and goats. Pictures are from the turn of the century, not in World Cat and scarce.
CONDITION: Near Fine, no names, a very faint crease on bottom corner. #19018
$125.00
2 years 16 weeks ago
2010-07-11 16:40
Un Incorrigible Minet. Hachette/Dean's Rag Books.
anon. /A. Hanslip, (Alice Hanslip) illustrator.
Paris: Hachette, nd [ca 1904]; printed by (Imp.) Deans Rag Book Co. Ltd, Londres; top board with striped kitten with red bow, bottom board shows kitten and rabbit; boards are rag pouches into which card has been inserted, 20 folded cloth pages, thick stiff spine; pictures of a Collette in a lacy pinafore and stockings and of the comfortable house in which she lives, printed in carmine, yellow, green and pale pink and blue, 3.2x4.75.
A rare example of the Dean's books printed for Hachette at the turn of the century. The naughty kitten Poucet causes all sorts of trouble: he bites his mother's tail, he tangles his Mistress's yarn, he chases the sparrows; he chases the rabbit. Scarce. The English version: DWARF SERIES NO. 22 THE TALE OF A NAUGHTY PUSSIE, PICTURES BY A HANSLIP,(sic) LONDON DEAN'S RAG BOOK CO.
CONDITION: Very Good; pencil name, outer cloth sides of boards and facing pages browning; interior white; spot at base of spine and back bottom margin. #16097
$200.00
1 year 1 week ago
2011-01-06 20:26
Farmyard Favorites.
anon. .
New York: McLoughlin, ca. 1900, #1200, three glazed linen sheets folded and stapled, making ten interior pages, 6.2x7.8"
The fine linen has a glazed finish resembling oilcloth which lends itself well to deeply coloured chromolithos and sepia line drawings. In colour: a ewe and her lamb on the cover, a cat with a fine dish, cows in a pasture, sheep in the sunshine, a St. Bernard in the snow, a racing collie.
CONDITION: Good Plus; pencil name, top cover margins scratched & worn with clear, bright illustration and titles, rear cover finish seems to have chipped in wide margin areas, collie unaffected; small hole in front, 2 pinholes in back, pages darkening but nice. #17312
$45.00
2 years 19 weeks ago
2011-01-06 21:00
Puff! Puff! Dean's Rag Book 1905. [in print 1904 - 1910]
anon. /Barton, Frank Matthews (cover) and Jessie Aitcheson, illustrators (not credited)
London: Dean's Rag Book Co Ltd, Patented March 7, 1905, 20 registered, Dean's Rag Books Patented; grey cloth covers with all-around landscape of children watching a long train, pinked edges; six doubled leaves sewn down with covers and red backstrip, making fourteen interior pages; 6.5x9.25".
Interesting pictures: A Snowed Up Train in Canada. New Zealand, One of the First Engines, One of the Latest Cars; an electric railway; a mountain railway and airship, Off for a Spin in the Motor, an African Train; Cleaning the Signal Lamp.
CONDITION: Very Good; spine ends a little frayed, covers crisp and bright with slightly curled top edge, 1/8" spot, inside bright and appears unwashed. #17311
$95.00
9 weeks 6 days ago
2011-01-06 21:21
Farmyard Book. Dean's Rag Book #282.
anon. /Albert Ernest Kennedy, illustrator (not credited)
London: Dean's Rag Book, #282, no date [1930]; blue cloth covers with pinked edges, very cute terrier holding the reins of a tiny pony on front, cat and her ball in back, two doubled leaves sewn down, making six interior pages; 6x7.8".
Sweet paintings by a Dean's artist, AE Kennedy, whose animals are particularly full of personality: two ducks, a St. Bernard puppy, two robins, two guinea pigs and a carrot, a wistful cow, and two lambkins.
CONDITION: Very Good; blue covers with one spot and grass faded but figures bright; sized and probably never washed, interior bright white and clean. #17309
$115.00
2 years 18 weeks ago
2011-01-06 21:35
Tots' Toys Dean's Rag Book #356.
anon. .
Dean's Rag Book #356 /Platt & Munk, cloth, 4x5.25".
Toy pictures in bright primary colours in a cute little book.
CONDITION: Very Good; no names, clean and bright, appears unwashed, one small spotted area showing on back and elephant. #17491
$95.00
2 years 18 weeks ago
2011-01-06 21:45
Our House, Josephine Wilkinson, ill. Dean's Rag Books.
anon. /Josephine Wilkinson, illustrator.
Great Britain: Deans Rag Books, 1965 (on JLW License plate), one doubled cloth sheet and a doubled half sheet, folded and sewn, making 6 pages, pinked edges, 6x6.5".
A red-roofed, timber framed house on the front, with the garage doors open to show the red car in the back, inside, the kitchen, LR, child's BR, and bath, all cozy in primary colours.  JW created stylish baby books for Dean's that are worth collecting, and inexpensive. Note: This book has been sold.
CONDITION: Very Good; no names, washed perhaps once, pinking very frayed, colours of both exterior and interior pages equally bright, and pages flat. #19016
$10.00
1 year 6 days ago
2011-01-07 11:13
Favourites. (Dean's Rag Books 6325/1)
anon. .
Gt. Britain: Dean's Rag Books, A BabySafe book, #6325/1; cloth, doubled cloth exterior with one double cloth leaf sewn in forming four interior pages, cover with little terrier and blue ball on front and two guinea pigs and a carrot on the back, blue spine; 4.75x5.2".
A dog, a goat, a duckling, a goose, a horse, and two guinea pigs, all with farmland backgrounds. Just right!
CONDITION: Very Good Plus, pinking and cloth crisp, possibly a faint waterstain on bottom edge, hard to tell, otherwise as new. #19337
$25.00
2 years 19 weeks ago
2011-01-07 11:26
Fuzzy Friends, Irma Wilde, ill.
anon. /Irma Wilde, illustrator.
New York: Sam'l Gabriel Sons & Co. (co. 1948) No. 393, "Wash-Easy Cloth Book May Be Washed With Mild Soap and Tepid Water" ; plaid cloth cover with cat and dog; 8x9.5; 8 sides plus exterior.
Very bright big 40's baby animals.
CONDITION: Very Good; no names or other marks, has not been washed, very bright, sizing crisp and pinked edges sharp, interior pages show some flattened creases in corners, with very light soil lines. #19289
$55.00
1 year 33 weeks ago
2011-01-07 11:41
Our Pretty Birds. Homewood Publishing, 1902.
anon. .
Homewood Publishing Company (1902); 3 stapled glazed linen sheets forming 10 interior pages, one side of each page has chromolithograph, the other has sepia text and drawings with a lighter orange faint background, 6x7.75".
An unusually beautiful linen bird book with fine paintings and detailed, labeled drawings and chromos. Both the paintings and the drawings appear to be by a single artist, whose signature I cannot find. The book begins with an alphabet poem of birds A to Z "Zebra Waxbill, whom I don't suppose you've seen." The many English birds are identified. Scarce. Please note: THIS BOOK HAS BEEN SOLD
CONDITION: Very Good; no names or other marks, binding tight, staples unrusted, edges neat, darkening a little with some light soil to cover, some flattened creases on front cover. #19381
$95.00
1 year 12 weeks ago
2011-01-07 11:56
Dog Toby by Bingham.
Clifton Bingham. /Berkeley, Stanley and Eugenie Richards, illustrator.
London: Dean's Rag Book Co., #47, patented in U. S. A. March 7, 1905; deep red cloth covers with Toby sitting on a stool for his little Mistress, 22 pages of doubled cloth including covers; large 9"x11" size.
An autobiography in poetic form of a very curious dog, with a different Chapter on every page following him through his happy life. All pages are illustrated with large drawings in red, blue, yellow, green, and brown in a quality similar to a hardcover book, rather than a cloth book. Toby seems to be a smooth fox terrier, and in one of his adventures, wins first prize in a dog show.
CONDITION: Very Good; fabric darkening espec. on covers, edges quite darkened, a few spots here and there but generally not stained or foxed, no writing, edges very lightly frayed, first pages lightly wrinkled, corners and spine flat, sizing present, not washed; interior colour bright. Jpgs show either less wrinkling to the front than the actual book or more; reality is somewhere in between. #17524
$195.00
2 years 1 week ago
2010-02-24 18:05
Mother Goose Rhymes. (Clara Burd)
Mother Goose. (Burd, Clara) /Clara Burd, illustrator.
New York: The Platt & Munk Co. 1927 #760; linen book with Mother Goose on her gander sailing over the treetops, 9.75x11.9; 14 pp.
Bright full pictures that are really brought out by the glazed linen.
CONDITION: Very Good; neat later owner inscription top of inside cover; bumped bottom corner w crease, sl bumped top corner to 1/4". #16172
$155.00
2 years 19 weeks ago
2010-07-05 09:38
Tom, Tom the Piper's Son.  (Hurlbut, Carl, felt book)
Mother Goose. (Hurlbut, Carl].) /Carl Hurlbut, illustrator.
Akron, Ohio: Kohler & Co, no date, co by S. H. Kohler; cover with Tom piping to lamb dancing in a grey pasture with blue sky and clouds, on the back in a cartouche, a toy lamb with Kohler's Felt Toy Books, "The Original Felt Books; three sheets of felt sewn together making ten interior pages; 4.8x6.8"; np.
Such an amazing idea! The thin, fine felt takes the print quite clearly and makes a nice light little book, if a bit dull on the cover. Ten nursery rhymes with lively illustrations.
CONDITION: Very Good; felt on all pages has probably darkened esp front, a trace of the 3/8" spot on first two pages is visible on front, tiny nick on back to white, edges dark, sewing very tight (recessed because this is felt), no tears, creases, or thinning. #17391
$250.00
2 years 18 weeks ago
2010-07-05 09:38
Tick-a-Tock.
Talbot, E. /E. Larcombe, illustrator.
London: Dean's Rag Book Co. Ltd, no date, no number on bulldogs; "Entirely British Manufacture"; blue cloth covers with pinked edges, doubled pages, one signature with an inserted page sewed down, thus eight interior pages; 6x8".
Turn of the century children go through the day from 7 AM to 6 PM in rhyme.
CONDITION: Very Good; no names, light pencil numerals in candle on back, a few spots, in blue covers, especially faded on the back near spine but with the illustration bright, pages still stiff, white, and clean, darkening near corners. #17308
$95.00
2 years 19 weeks ago
2011-01-06 20:45
My Indestructible Pet Book by Uncle Herbert.
Uncle Herbert. .Play book cloth (softcover)
New York: J. B. Lippincott & Co, (1881); on the front little girl with glasses seated at a table with her doll, examining (an insect cage?), on white heavily sized cloth with black print, 4 folded sheets making 14 interior pages; 5.8x7.75.
Each page has a large print primer story. "Do you see this dog with a bell? He must be a very nice dog to ring the bell all alone. I hope the maid will let him in.." The fine linen allows for detail in the woodcuts. An early and interesting cloth book.
CONDITION: Repaired to Good Plus state; sloppy modern re-sewing of binding has been removed, pages aligned and hand tacked inconspicuously, 19th c names, "Elmer Hawkin's Book", two small numbers near title, ow flawed by lightly frayed top edge and curled bottom corners, light soil. #17317
$25.00
2 years 19 weeks ago
2011-01-06 21:15