Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Obligatory Earth Day Post


I don’t think of Earth Day very much.  Not because I don’t care about the environment or climate change or the plight of the Irawaddy Dolphin or Emperor Penguin.  I do care.  I try, on a daily basis to keep my carbon footprint as small as possible by recycling, composting, growing my own food, walking/biking instead of driving, reducing my consumption of limited resources, etc…  While I know how I behave in my personal life, I hadn’t really examined how or if that mode of behavior transferred to my business life.

                The very nature of reselling has a positive impact as we keep goods out of landfills.  Reselling books, in particular, can help to reduce the number of trees cut down to produce paper, diminish the amount of toxic by-products produced from the printing process and even cut down on the amount of fuel consumed to get the printed books to distributors and then finally into the consumers’ hands.

                However, since the world of reselling books has changed so much since the Internet came along; i.e. the closing of the majority of brick & mortar stores, most of us booksellers rely on mail order or internet sales.  This of course means that we have to pack and ship the books, which requires the use of resources to produce packing material.  Getting the packages to customers means that they have to be driven to or picked up by the post office and then driven or flown to their final destination, thus using up resources and increasing harmful emissions.
 
                With that in mind, I realize that I have taken some small steps to offset some of the environmentally negative impacts of my business:

          1. Whenever possible I use boxes from shipments I received or which I’ve picked up at  my local recycling center.

          2. The production of bubble wrap is incredibly toxic, so I try to re-use this as well.

          3. Instead of Styrofoam or polystyrene packing material I use old newspaper; or, if I receive a package containing those packing peanuts, I’ll reuse them instead of letting them end up in the garbage.  Those things are dangerous to produce and dispose of.

          4. Rather than take packages to the post office every day, I’ve designated Tuesday and Friday as my shipping days (although I do have the occasional customer who NEEDS their book faster, which will require an extra trip).

          5. I’ve reduced the number of print catalogs I send by asking customers with internet access to receive digital catalogs.  This has worked well with the trade, but the majority of my retail customers still want to browse the physical catalogs.
Going forward, I will continually find ways to eliminate unnecessary waste, which can also have the added benefit of positively affecting the bottom line—as much as some will lead you to believe that being greener takes more green. 

While I have no illusions that my small steps will save the habitat of Polar Bears or the Hawksbill Turtle, I do believe that if we all take small steps, we can eventually undo some of the damage we’ve caused and even live in a better and cleaner world.  

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

New Arrivals: Children's Books April 18th, 2012

The result of my cataloging all day?  24 Books for sale!  Questions about or interest in any of the books? Images supplied upon request.  Shoot me an email! emmaurice2@aol.com 


Terms follow the list.


[005805] ABC. Hepworth, Cathi (Author and Illustrator). Antics!. New York: G P Putnam & Sons, 1992. First Printing. 4to. Very Good / Near Fine. ISBN: 0399218629. Pictorial boards, publisher discard, so stamped on rear endpaper; matching dust jacket with tiny nick at top of spine. An alphabet book where every word contains "ant." The artwork is fun and colorful.  $7.50

[005808] Andersen, H. C., Retold By Naomi Lewis. Hans Christian Andersen's the Snow Queen. ill. Angela Barrett. New York: Henry Holt, 1988. First American Edition Thus. 4to. Near Fine / Very Good. ISBN: 0805008306. Grey cloth hard cover in color illustrated dust jacket which is slightly darkened. The traditional fairy tail retold by Lewis. Magical color artwork by Barrett throughout. Favorably reviewed by School Library Journal, "If you have no single edition of The Snow Queen, or need to replace one, consider this edition."  $22.50

[005801] Arnold, Katya. Knock, Knock, Termok!. New York: North-South Books, 1994. First Printing. Square 4to. Very Good / Good. ISBN: 1558583297. Pictorial boards, slight darkening at top of pages; matching dust jacket darkened along top edge. A cumulative rhyme about different animals who come upon an hut and wish to make it their home, which works well enough until the bear comes along. Allegory for the collapse of the Soviet Union. Bold folk-peasant style color artwork.  $8.50

[005807] Conrad, Pam. Doll Face Has a Party. ill. Brian Selznick. New York: Harpercollins Childrens Books, 1994. First Printing. Large Oblong 4to. Fine / Fine. ISBN: 0060242620. Pictorial boards in matching dust jacket. A pink-haired, articulated doll decides to throw a party. Bold artwork with rich patterns by Selznick. His second book, but first picture book.  $17.50

[005803] Dewey, Jennifer Owings. At the Edge of the Pond. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1987. Stated First Edition. Small Oblong 4to. Fine / Very Good. ISBN: 0316182087. Hard cover in color illustrated dust jacket slightly darkened along spine and top edge. A book about the ecology of a pond, told in sooth verse. Illustrated with beautiful, realistic color artwork.  $12.50

[005811] Drummond, Allan. The Willow Pattern Story. New York: North South Books, 1992. First Edition. Oblong 4to. Good / Good. ISBN: 1558581715. Pictorial boards, pages slightly darkened along top edge; matching dust jacket slightly darkened. A story sparked by the Willow Pattern on a piece of Spode china. Illustrated in color throughout.  $8.50

[005799] James, Will. Lone Cowboy: My Life Story . ill. Will James. New York: Scribners & Sons, 1930. First Edition (A). Thick 8vo. Good / No Jacket. 433 pgs. Green pictorial cloth, corners fraying, cloth rubbed, spine dulled, titled page foxed, previous owners name, text is clean and readable. Illustrated, fictionalized autobiography of Will James, illustrated by him throughout.  $17.50

[005806] Krensky, Stephen. Missing Mother Goose : Original Stories from Favorite Rhymes. ill. Chris Demarest. New York: Random House Children's Books, 1991. First American Edition. 4to. Near Fine / Near Fine. ISBN: 0385262744. Pictorial boards, bottom corners slightly bumped; dust jacket with light soil. Traditional nursery rhymes accompanied by expanded stories of the rhymes. Humorous color artwork.  $8.50


[005804] Lobel, Anita . Dwarf Giant, The. New York: Holiday House, 1991. First Edition. 4to. Fine / Good. ISBN: 0823408523. Hard cover in illustrated dust jacket, darkened with a tear at top of spine. The tale of a prince and princess, Mainichi and Ichinichi, in Japan who are bored with their quiet life until a strange little dwarf pays them a visit. Lobel's Japanese inspired style of artwork is, at turns beautiful and fittingly daunting.  $14.50

[005800] May, Robert L.; Illustrated By Harriet Weed Hubbell. Benny the Bunny Liked Beans (by the author of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer). New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1940. Stated First Edition. 8vo. Very Good / Very Good. Pictorial boards, minor external wear, 2 pages with small marginal stain, in matching pictorial dust jacket with light wear and one edge tear. The story of a stubborn and naughty little bunny told in verse, who doesn't want to eat anything other than beans. Illustrated in color & b&w throughout. Very cute.  $35.00

[005797] Mayer, Marianna; Illustrated By Gerald McDermott. Marcel the Pastry Chef. New York: Bantam Little Rooster, 1991. First Printing. 4to. Fine / Near Fine. ISBN: 055305192x. Pictorial boards in matching dust jacket, slightly darkened at top edge. A pleasant story of a hippopotamus who bakes pastry in secret. The story quietly reinforces the value of selflessness. McDermott's artwork is wonderful and filled with enough details to keep a child focused and interested.  $25.00


[005814] McMullan, Kate;McMullan, Jim. The Noisy Giant's Tea Party. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. Stated First Edition. 4to. Fine / Fine. ISBN: 0062050184. Hard cover in color illustrated dust jacket. A little boy named Andrew falls asleep to the sound of his pet mice making noises in their cage, but soon sounds from the street below his window work their way into his dreams, somehow conjuring up images of a raucous and crazy tea party. Fabulously stylized color artwork on every page depicting both the dream world and the real world.  $12.50


[005813] Melendez, Francisco. The Mermaid and the Major: The True Story of the Submarine.   $17.50


[005791] Mother Goose. Intro and Notes By Baring-Gould, William S. And Ceil. Annotated Mother Goose. ill. Various. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Stated First Edition. 4to. Good / Good. (1962). Yellow cloth darkened at edges, small stain at fore edge of text block, dust jacket worn, creased with small losses and edge tears. Mother Goose nursery rhymes with extensive notes and a known history. Illustrated with b&w reproductions of artwork by Walter Crane, Randolph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway, Arthur Rackham, Maxfield Parrish and Early Historical Woodcuts.  $30.00


[005796] Pop-up. A Walk in Monet's Garden: A Pop-Up Book. New York: Bulfinch Press/Little, Brown, 1995. Square 4to. As New / No Jacket As Issued. ISBN: 0821221957. Glazed pictorial boards, in publisher's original shrink wrap. The book unfold to a large and wonderful pop-up tableau recreating Monet's famous garden. Includes a booklet that gives a guided tour of the garden.  $30.00


[005792] Pop-up. Grahame, Kenneth. Wind in the Willows, A Pop-Up Book. ill. Babette Cole. New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1983. First Printing. 4to. Fine / No Jacket As Issued. ISBN: 0030638623. Glossy pictorial covers, all pop-ups and moveable elements in fine working order. Excerpts from the classic illustrated with entertaining pop-ups, some with moveable elements. Paper engineering by James Roger Diaz and Keith Moseley.  $25.00


[005795] Pop-up. Hargreaves, Roger. Little Miss Sunshine's Rainy Day Pop-Up Fun. Los Angeles: Price Stern Sloan, 1983. 8vo. Very Good / No Jacket As Issued. ISBN: 0843108347. Glazed pictorial wraparound boards. 6 pop-ups with moveable elements, light wear to pull-tabs, one page with stray mark.  $8.50


[005794] Pop-up. Hargreaves, Roger. Mr. Funny and the Pop-Up TV Show. Los Angeles: Price Stern Sloan, 1983. 8vo. Fine / No Jacket As Issued. ISBN: 0843108312. Glazed pictorial wraparound boards. 6 fine pop-ups with moveable elements.  $8.50


[005793] Pop-up. Hargreaves, Roger. Mr. Happy Goes to a Pop-Up Dinner. Los Angeles: Price Stern Sloan, 1983. 8vo. Very Good / No Jacket As Issued. ISBN: 0843108320. Glazed pictorial wraparound boards, light cover soil. 6 fine pop-ups with moveable elements.  $8.50


[005809] Rebello, Stephen. The Art of Pocahontas. ill. Walt Disney Studio. New York: Hyperion Books, 1995. First Printing. Folio. Fine / Very Good to Near Fine. ISBN: 0786861584 . Turquoise cloth in color dust jacket with small nick at front fold, light soil. A behind-the-scenes look at Disney's animated feature, Pocahontas. Large and beautiful book. Will require additional postage for priority or overseas orders.  $45.00


[005798] Stevenson, Robert Louis; Illustrated By Charles Robinson. Child's Garden of Verses. London: John Lane Bodley Head, 1899. Fifth Edition . 8vo. Good 140 pgs w/ 12 pgs of ads in rear. AEG. Green cloth with elaborate gilt decoration to covers and spine, covers soiled and worn, pages slightly age-toned, binding shaken, bookplate of Douglas Duncan Milne. Stevenson's classic packed with rich and detailed pen & ink illustrations in Robinson's marvelously distinctive style. One of the best examples of Robinson's genius with the pen.  $25.00


[005802] Stewart, Sarah; Illustrated by David Small. Library, The. New York: FSG, 1995. Stated First Edition. 4to. Fine / Fine. ISBN: 0374343888. Hard cover in illustrated dust jacket. The tale of a woman who dedicates her life to books and reading, told in rhyme and loosely based on the life of Mary Elizabeth Brown. The story is told with subtle bits of humor and ends on a bittersweet note. Small's artwork is beautiful, detailed and caused me to laugh out loud more than once. Anyone who is passionate about books and reading will identify with the character's fervor.  $22.50


[005810] Van Rynbach, Iris. Everything from a Nail to a Coffin. New York: Orchard Books, 1991. First Printing. Oblong 4to. Near Fine / Near Fine. ISBN: 0531059413. Hard cover in illustrated dust jacket. The story of the evolution of one building on Main Street in Glastonbury, CT from it's erection in 1874 to modern times. Illustrated in color.  $12.50


[005812] Walsh, Amanda. The Mysterious Hubbub. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1990. First American Edition. Oblong 4to. Near Fine / Very Good. ISBN: 0395537835. Hard cover in illustrated dust jacket, slightly darkened. Illustrated in b&w and color. Australian author/illustrator.  $7.50


ORDERING:  Orders are accepted by phone 7 days a week from 10am to 9pm EST.  Email orders any time.  All items subject to prior sale.

PAYMENT METHODS:  Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover, checks, money orders, and PayPal. (Credit Card orders require: billing address & security code on reverse of card)

PAYMENT TERMS:  Payment is due before book(s) ship.  We will hold book(s) for payment for seven business days.  Libraries and institutions may be billed.  Connecticut residents, please add 6% sales tax.

SHIPPING:  Media Mail: $4.50 for 1st Book, $1.00 each additional book OR Priority Mail: $8.00 for 1st book, $2.00 for each book after that, per order—Insurance is extra, please request insurance when ordering.  INTERNATIONAL orders will be shipped via Global Priority at cost.  Please note: We will not falsify customs documents, so please do not ask.

RETURNS:  You may return any book for any reason as long as: 1) Prior notice by telephone is given within 3 days after receiving book, 2) Item is returned in condition in which is was received and is properly packed and insured for return trip, please use a trackable shipping method.  Refunds will be issued for book price and original shipping once item has been safely returned and inspected. 

Friday, April 13, 2012

Giveaway #1 First Edition of Starring Sally J. Freedman As Herself by Judy Blume

Welcome to our very first giveaway!  To enter, all you have to do is "Like" our Facebook page then send a message through Facebook so we can contact you if you win!:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/E-M-Maurice-Books/245905268798723

Following @timothymarks on Twitter will get you one extra chance to win! (Be sure to include your Twitter handle in the Facebook message to make sure we count your extra entry!)

The winner will be announced on Facebook and Twitter on or about May 1st, 2012.

Here is what you could win!

Author: Blume, Judy.
Title: Starring Sally J. Freedman As Herself.
Pub: Scarsdale: Bradbury Press, 1977.
First Edition. 
Near Fine book in a  Very Good dust jacket.
Red cloth hardcover with minor rubbing to extremities; illustrated dust jacket with small chips and light wear. The story of a young girl who moves to Miami with her family shortly after WWII and is convinced that her neighbor is Hitler in disguise. This is one of Blume's best books, in my humble opinion.

The Rules:
Anyone who likes our Facebook page and sends E M Maurice Books a message can win.
Current "Likers" are automatically entered.
Giveaway ends on April 30th.
The winner will be chosen at random on or around May 1st and contacted by E M Maurice Books through Facebook.
The winner will have 3 days to reply with their shipping information*.
If winner does not reply, their entry is forfeit and a new winner will be chosen
International shipping will be First Class International
Domestic (U.S.) will be Media Mail.
*We do not share or use your personal information, except your name and/or Twitter handle when announcing you as the winner.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Perfectly Nice Books at Equally Nice Prices.


My goal was to catalog 15 books today.  Well, I managed to do 20! Here they are!  Questions about or interest in any of the books? Shoot me an email! emmaurice2@aol.com


[005788] ABC. Tice, Clara. ABC Dogs. ill. Clara Tice. New York: Wilfred Funk, 1940. First Edition. Folio. Fair / No Jacket. Illustrated boards with cloth spine, edges heavily worn, spine ends fraying, 1/2" hole in spine, pages thumbed and occasionally marked. An uncommon and beautiful alphabet book where each letter of the alphabet stands for a different breed of dog. For each breed is a gorgeous illustration reproduced from etchings by Tice. A reading copy.  $45.00

[005779] Barasch, Marc Ian; Illustrated By Henrik Drescher. No Plain Pets!. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. First Printing. 4to. Fine / Near Fine. ISBN: 0060224738. Hard cover in pictorial dust jacket, slightly darkened at top edge. A really fun book about a boy who wants an exotic pet. The artwork is zany and sure to keep you entertained. Quite frankly, I love this book.  $17.50






[005784] Clavell, James. Trump-O-Moto. ill. George Sharp. New York: Delacorte, 1986. First American Edition. 4to. Fine / Near Fine. ISBN: 0385295049. Hard cover in illustrated dust jacket, slightly scuffed with light dust soil. A fantasy about an ailing girl who is aided by a wizard and other magical creatures. Magnificent color artwork.  $12.50


 [005771] Dewey, Jennifer Owings. Birds of Antarctica: The Adelie Penguins. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1989. First Printing. 4to. Near Fine / Near Fine. Purple hard cover, faint paper-clip impression to endpaper, slight darkening at edge of text block, dust jacket slightly age-toned. A year in the lives of Adelie penguins with great color artwork on every page. OOP.  $8.50

[005783] Edens, Cooper. The Story Cloud. ill. Kenneth Leroy Grant. Riverside, New Jersey, U.S.A.: Simon & Schuster, 1991. First Printing. Oblong 4to. Very Good Minus / Good. ISBN: 0671748238. Pictorial boards, remainder mark on rear endpaper, matching dust jacket darkened. Fairy tale and fantasy characters share their dreams with a child.  $7.50

[005785] Field, Eugene. Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat. ill. Johanna Westerman. New York: North-South Books, 1994. First American Edition. 4to. Fine / Fine. Pictorial boards in matching dust jacket. Perennial favorite by Field, illustrated in b&w.  $8.50

[005786] Gerstein, Mordicai. New Creatures. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. First Printing. 4to. Fine / Near Fine. ISBN: 006022164x. Hard cover in color pictorial dust jacket, small bit of residue on front panel, else fine. A child's question sparks a tall tale about the time when cats and dogs ruled the world. Fun color artwork throughout.  $12.50



[005778] Grejniec, Michael. When I Open My Eyes. New York: Henry Holt, 1990. First Printing. 4to. Fine / Very Good. ISBN: 0805014179. Pictorial boards in matching dust jacket, which is age-toned. A little girl's vivid imagining of a little lamb endangered by a wolf. Soft and appealing color artwork on every page.  $8.50



 [005776] Livingston, Myra Cohn; Illustrated By Leonard Everett Fisher. Festivals. New York: Holiday House, 1996. Stated First Edition. 4to. Very Good / Near Fine. ISBN: 0823412172. Hard cover, dent to bottom edge, spine slightly askew; illustrated dust jacket with mild rubbing to extremities. A follow up to their collaboration "Celebrations," about festivals from around the world. Illustrated with bold paintings by Fisher.  $8.50

[005789] Mussino, Attilio (Illus); Collodi, C. (Author). Pinocchio. New York: Macmillan, 1989. First Printing of ReIssue. Thick 4to. Fine / Fine. Blue cloth in illustrated dust jacket, housed in original publisher's cardboard box. The first Mussino edition was published in Italy in 1911, in America in 1925. In 1969 the book was redesigned and reissued with great success. This is a reissue of the 1969 edition. A beautiful production featuring Mussino's iconic color artwork.  $25.00




[005782] Nursery Rhymes. Over the Hills and Far Away, A Book of Nursery Rhymes. ill. Alan Marks. New York: North-South Books, 1994. First American Edition. Small Square 4to. Very Good / Very Good. ISBN: 1558582851. Pictorial boards, pages slightly darkened at edges; matching dust jacket slightly darkened. A collection of familiar and some slightly obscure nursery rhymes with masterful color artwork and silhouettes.  $12.50





[005787] Rackham, Arthur. Hudson, Derek (Auth).. Arthur Rackham: His Life and Work. ill. Arthur Rackham. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, First American Edition. Thick 4to. Very Good Plus / Good. (1960). Burgundy cloth, light shelf wear; pictorial dust jacket with a few edge tears, light edge wear, old tape repair to verso and rear panel. A biography and bibliography with mounted color plates, photos, b&w plates and line art within the text.  $110.00



[005772] Rayevsky, Robert (Illus); Kimmel, Eric A (retold by). Squash It!. New York: Holiday House, 1997. First Edition. 4to. Near Fine / Fine. ISBN: 0823412997. Blue boards with cloth spine, tiny nick to bottom edge, else fine; illustrated dust jacket. A retelling of an old folk tale about an insect who bites a king and becomes royalty. Bold color artwork by Rayevsky.  $12.50



[005774] Ryder, Joanne. When the Woods Hum. ill. Catherine Stock. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1991. First Printing. Oblong 4to. Fine / Near Fine. ISBN: 0688070574. Pictorial boards in matching dust jacket, slightly darkened at edges (visble on flaps and verso). A young woman visits the woods and witnesses the lives of cicadas and returns 17 years later with her son. Illustrated in color.  $8.50



[005780] Schotter, Roni. Warm at Home. ill. Dara Goldman. New York: Macmillan, 1993. First Printing. 4to. Fine / Fine. ISBN: 0027812952. Pictorial boards in matching dust jacket. A little bunny must stay home from school. A cozy charmer. Illustrated in color. Favorably reviewed by Publisher's Weekly.  $12.50



[005790] Shakespeare, William; Illustrated By Leonard Weisgard. Under the Greenwood Tree, songs from the Plays Selected By Julia Louise Reynolds. ill. Leonard Weisgard. New York: Oxford University Press, Probable First Edition. 4to. Very Good / Fair. 51 pgs. Bound in green cloth with gilt titling, one page with offsetting from a piece of paper that was laid into the book; dust jacket fragile with large tears, old tape repair to verso, 3" piece missing from rear panel. A collection of songs selected from the plays of Shakespeare. Beautifully stylized color lithographs by Weisgard throughout, which bring new life to these well-known verses..  $14.50



[005777] Southey, Robert. Cataract of Lodore. ill. Mordicai Gerstein. New York: Dial Books, 1991. First Thus. Oblong 4to. Very Good / Near Fine. ISBN: 0803710259. Pictorial boards, small remainder mark to bottom edge, else fine; dust jacket slightly age-toned. Rollicking 19th Century poem with fun rhymes. Gerstein's artwork is always appealing.  $12.50





[005773] Southey, Robert. Cataract of Lodore. ill. David Catrow. New York: Henry Holt, 1992. First Thus. Oblong 4to. Fine / Near Fine. ISBN: 0805019456. Hard cover in color illustrated dust jacket, slightly darkened at top edge. A rollicking poem about a waterfall by 19th Century poet Southey, illustrated with equally energetic color artwork.  $12.50


 [005775] Voake, Charlotte. Mrs. Goose's Baby. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1989. First American Edition. Small Oblong 4to. Fine / Near Fine. ISBN: 0316905119. Pictorial boards in matching dust jacket, slightly darkened at top edge. The story of a goose who finds and egg and takes it to her nest. Charming story good for adopted children. Charming artwork. Glowing reviews from School Library Journal and Publisher's Weekly.  $22.50


[005781] Wright, Betty Ren; Illustrated By Gail Owens. Cat Next Door, The. New York: Holiday House, 1991. First Printing. Small Square 4to. Fine / Fine. Hard cover in color illustrated dust jacket. A book that sensitvely deals with the delicate subject of the loss of a loved one. Dream-like color artwork throughout. Favorably reviewed by Publisher's Weekly and School Library Journal  $17.50




Tuesday, April 10, 2012

A Little Fun, Some Nonsense and a Mystery

Little mysteries keep my job in the rare book world interesting.  Although, in many cases, these mysteries remain unsolved.

Recently, I've been in contact with a biographer/bibliographer who is working on the history of Florence Harrison, a children's book author  and illustrator from the early 20th Century.  There is scant information about her even though she was relatively popular in her day and her books and artwork are highly sought after in today's rare book market.

My correspondence with the biographer began nearly a year ago when she contacted me asking for a scan of a book cover that features artwork which resembles Harrison's.  Somehow, I lost her contact information and never sent the scan.

A few days ago she contacted me again about a different book, but I remembered her previous request and asked if she would still like the scans.

"Yes, please," she said.

Now, here is the mystery.

The book in question is titled, Fun and Nonsense, which was written and illustrated by Willard Bonte.  However, the cover artwork is clearly not  Bonte's hand, but resembles Florence Harrison's.  At the time, copyright laws were much different than they are today and publishers used artwork willy-nilly without permissions.  So, it was not uncommon for artwork to be "recycled."




Cover of Fun and Nonsense by Willard Bonte.  Boston: H M Caldwell, (1904)












However, Fun and Nonsense was published in 1904 but the cover artwork would not appear in Harrison's work until 1907 in Rhyme of a Run.  In fact, Harrison's first published work, Rhymes and Reason is generally agreed to have been published in 1905 (per British Library).




Cover of Rhyme of a Run by Florence Harrison. London: Blackie & Son, [1907].









To make this mystery even more interesting,  the cover art for Fun and Nonsense is composed differently than it would appear in Rhyme of a Run.


Illustration from Rhyme of a Run










My answer is only speculative, but I assume that Fun and Nonsense, while copyrighted 1904, was probably published later--Caldwell was inconsistent about denoting editions or listing later dates.  Furthermore, Caldwell published the American edition of Rhyme of a Run, so it stands to reason that they would have had access to Harrison's artwork in some way (although the American edition was most likely produced in Great Britain).  There are small differences between the two, but certainly extraordinarily similar.  Another possibility that I don't like to think about, is that Harrison copied the artwork--this seems unlikely as she clearly had her own wonderful imagination.

The question still remains--Why choose artwork from a different illustrator for the cover of a book by a different author and illustrator?

Fore comparison sake, here is an example of Bonte's artwork from Fun and Nonsense.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Happy Easter!


































Illustration by Gisella Loeffler from Franzi and Gizi by Margery Bianco (1941)

Loeffler was an Hungarian artist who immigrated to the United States and settled in Taos, NM.  Her books are beautiful, but very difficult to find.

Fun Fact about another book:  The first edition of the popular book, The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes had a misprint on the dust jacket spine--mistakenly titled the book The Easter Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes.  Finding a copy with the mis-printed spine title will be truly rare.

And just for kicks, here I am as a youngster with the Easter bunny

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Happy Birthday Washington Irving!

In honor of Washington Irving's birthday, some examples of illustrated editions of his books that I have or have had.