Rare books from Books of Wonder

BAUM, L[yman] Frank. The Marvelous Land of Oz. Pictured by John R. Neill. The end-papers from life poses by the famous comedians, Montgomery and Stone. Chicago: Reilly & Britton, 1904. 8vo, 287pp. Dark red cloth pictorially stamped in dark navy blue, silver and green. Pictorial endpapers; 16 full-color plates and 118 b&w illustrations. A remarkably clean, tight copy, with spine ends and corners lightly rubbed, faint damp-staining to rear board, front hinge starting, a few pages soiled in margins.
First edition, second state, binding state B, bearing "Published, July, 1904" on copyright and the plate on pp 23 bearing the caption "Old Mombi puts Jack in the stable." The second of L. Frank Baum's beloved and best-selling Oz books, issued one year after "The Wizard of Oz" had become a smash hit on Broadway. The boy Tip is befriended by the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, Jack Pumpkinhead, H.M. Wogglebug, T.E., and the wooden Sawhorse as they strive to stop the evil witch Mombi and the revolt of the women of Oz.… Read More

ROWLING, J[oanne] K[athleen].Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Illustrations by Mary GrandPre. [NY]: Scholastic [1999]. 8vo, xii 436pp. Purple half-cloth with green patterned boards and spine stamped in green. Red endpapers; b&w illustrated chapter headings. A fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket. Signed by the author, J.K. Rowling, and the artist, Mary GrandPre.First US Edition. The third book in the bestselling Harry Potter series. Harry must face his greatest challenge yet when his infamous godfather, Sirius Black, escapes from Azkaban prison. Is he out to get Harry? Or is there more to the story than Harry's been told?

BARRIE, J[ames] M[atthew]. Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. With Drawings by Arthur Rackham. NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1906. 8vo, xiv 176pp. Olive cloth pictorially stamped in gilt. Olive endpapers; 50 hand-tipped color plates with captioned tissue guards. An clean, tight copy with edges lightly rubbed, spine a little sunned, half-inch spot at bottom right of front cover, title and its tissue guard foxed, about half the other tissue guards lightly foxed. Nonetheless, an attractive copy with its beautiful pictorial stamping still bright. First US edition. The second of Rackham's lavish illustrated editions, featuring 50 spectacular color plates. This story, from Barrie's 1902 novel The Little White Bird, tells of the infant Peter Pan. This is the first illustrated edition of this story.

SCIESZKA, Jon. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. [Illustrated by Lane Smith]. [NY]: Viking [1992]. 8vo, [48]pp. Color pictorial boards. Patterned endpapers; color illustrations on every page. A fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (no medal affixed, price-clipped). Signed by the artist, Lane Smith, with a full-page drawing of the Stinky Cheese Man on the front free endpaper. Scarce thus.
First edition. 1993 Caldecott Honor Book! Following up on the success of their previous collaboration, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, this award-winning duo created 10 new tales filled with humor and heart. With its unconventional page arrangement, and eclectic, frenetic mix of text and pictures, this delightful spoof has captured readers imaginations for nearly 30 years and influenced a generation of picture book authors. Copies signed by Lane Smith have grown quite scarce.

NEWELL, Peter. The Hole Book. NY: Harper & Brothers [1908]. 12mo, [48]pp. Blue cloth with color pictorial label affixed to the front. Full-page color illustrations on every other page. Light rubbing to lower spine end and corners, light scratching to paper label, paper covering hinges starting, but as this is a side-sewn book, it has no effect on the tightness or sturdiness of the volume. Overall, a clean, bright copy.
First edition When young Tom Potts "was fooling with a gun" it accidentally goes off and plows a hole through all of the town. One of the first great successful novelty books, featuring a hole (ostensibly created by the bullet) in the center of each page.

SEUSS, Dr. The Cat in the Hat. [NY]: Random House [1957]. 8vo, [ii] 62pp. Color pictorial boards. Color pictorial endpapers; color illustrations on every page. Minute wear to spine ends and corners, slight foxing to interior edges of boards, hinges mended, else a clean, bright copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (light wear to corners and edges, minute scratching to front and some light soiling to rear).
First edition, first state (Younger/Hirsch #7). Challenged by Josh Hersey to create a basic reader that would be far more appealing to children than "Dick and Jane" and other such standard fare, Seuss created a classic that sold over a million copies in its first few years and went on to become one of the most beloved children's books of the 20th century. Named to both School Library Journal's Top 100 Picture Books of all time and The National Education Association's list of Teacher's Top 100 Books for children, it would be hard to find an American child or adult today who did not know The… Read More

SEUSS, Dr.
On Beyond Zebra. NY: Random House [1955]. 4to, [64]pp. Color pictorial boards. Color pictorial endpapers; color illustrations on nearly every page. Upper and lower edges a bit rubbed, else a clean, bright copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (a bit soiled, some small chips and creasing at edges, lengthy scratch to right side of front panel).
First edition. If you think the alphabet stops with Z, you are wrong. So wrong. Leave it to Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell (with a little help from Dr. Seuss) to create an entirely new alphabet continuing from Z! This rhyming picture book introduces twenty new letters and the creatures that one can spell with them. This book was recently withdrawn from publication by the steward of Geisel's literary legacy, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, due to certain stereotypes featured in one of the images in the book.

[RACKHAM, Arthur]. The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. Translated by Mrs. Edgar Lucas. London: Constable & Company, 1909. 4to, xvi 326pp. Velum pictorially stamped in gilt; t.e.g. 40 mounted color plates with tissue guards and numerous b&w illustrations. Spine lightly sunned, light rubbing to covers, silk ties missing, plate at frontispiece bearing small crease at lower right corner, else a remarkably bright, tight copy in custom-made slipcase (a bit worn). Signed by the artist, Arthur Rackham.
First edition, limited issue, being one of 750 copies signed by the artist. A wonderful collection of fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm featuring the spectacular illustrations of Arthur Rackham. This is the subject matter that brought out the best in Rackham. A lavishly illustrated limited edition and a showpiece for any collection!

DAHL, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Illustrated by Joseph Schindelman. NY: Alfred A. Knopf [1964]. 8vo, [xii] 164pp. Red cloth with spine stamped in gold and front cover in blind; top edge red. Mustard endpapers; b&w illustrations throughout. Slightest wear to corners and spine ends, else a remarkably fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (some minor wear along top and bottom edges). With a bookplate signed by the author, Roald Dahl, laid-in.
First edition, bearing the six-line colophon. Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory is opening at last! But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. Charlie Bucket dreams of being one of the five, but he can't even afford the chocolate that contains the golden tickets. But when by a great stroke of luck he ends up with the fifth and final ticket, he finds himself on the adventure of a lifetime! The basis for two major motion pictures.

LEWIS, C[live] S[taples]. The Complete Chronicles of Narnia. With Illustrations hand-coloured by the artist, Pauline Baynes, [London]: HarperCollins [2006]. 4to, 526pp. Navy bonded leather spine stamped in silver with navy cloth stamped in matching silver; all edges silver. Navy endpapers; color illustrations on most spreads. A fine copy housed in publisher's navy cloth slip case.
First printing of the deluxe UK "Gift Edition." All seven book in The Chronicles of Narnia housed in one gorgeous over-sized volume, featuring all of the original Pauline Baynes illustrations with her hand-coloring. The books are in the author's preferred order, meaning that The Magician's Nephew is the first title in the volume and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is second. As it stated on the copyright page: "HarperCollins is happy to present these book in the order in which Professor Lewis preferred."

PATERSON, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia. Illustrated by Donna Diamond. NY: Thomas Y Crowell [1977]. 8vo, [x] 131pp. Black cloth with spine stamped in silver, front cover stamped in blind. 8 full-page and 4 half-page half-tone illustrations. Spine ends and lower corners lightly rubbed; faint, tiny discoloration in midst of front free endpaper; else a fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (a fw tiny chips at spine ends, spine a tad sunned, medal affixed). With a bookplate signed by two-time Newbery Medalist Katherine Paterson laid in.
First edition. 1978 Newbery Medal Winner! This moving novel of two friends who create a magical kingdom for themselves to deal with the stresses in their lives has been beloved since its publication. The basis for a 1985 PBS TV movie and the 2007 Disney feature film starring Josh Hutcherson and written by the author's son, David Paterson (whose loss of a dear friend as a child inspired the book).

JOHNSON, Crockett. Harold and the Purple Crayon. NY: Harper & Brothers, 1955. 16mo, [64]pp. Color pictorial boards with black cloth spine stamped in purple. Illustrations in black and purple on every page Lower edge of boards lightly rubbed (far less than usually found), upper edge of sheets a tad foxed – but actual pages unaffected, else a remarkably clean, bright copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (edges, corners and spine slightly worn).
First edition with a $1.50 dust jacket price. There's nothing Harold can't create, do, or explore with his imagination and his trusty purple crayon. The first of seven books written by Crockett Johnson about this unforgettable character. Truly an iconic picture book.

TOLKIEN, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel]. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from The Red Book. With Illustrations by Pauline Baynes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1963. 8vo, 64pp. Color pictorial boards. 6 full-page two-color illustrations and numerous smaller b&w and two-color illustrations. Top and bottom edges a bit worn, tiny bit of soiling to rear free endpaper, else a clean, tight copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (minute wear at edges).
First US edition, being issued one year after the UK edition. A collection of 16 poems, including two which feature the beloved character of Tom Bombadil who was first encountered by Frodo Baggins in
The Fellowship of the Ring, and Sam Gamgee's own poem,Oliphant. These poems are presented as an actual translation from The Red Book of Westmarch, a manuscript supposedly written by hobbits, and some of which are attributed to Samwise Gamgee and Bilbo Baggins. Featuring delightful illustrations by Pauline Baynes (perhaps best-known for her illustrations… Read More

TOLKIEN, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel]. The Lord of the Rings. Illustrated by Alan Lee. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1992. 4to: 1193pp. Navy cloth decoratively stamped in silver. Two-color map endpapers of Middle-earth at front and rear of first two volumes, more detailed two-color map of Gondor, Mordor, and Rohan on endpapers of volume three; 48 full-color plates (16 in each volume). Volume one also has a full-page b&w map of the Shire. Volume one has very faint damp stain at upper right corner of front cover, else fine copies in original color pictorial dust jacket (3/4" closed tear at top of front panel on volume one, all copies showing lightest edgewear). All three volumes housed in original black, internally padded, slipcase with design celebrating Tolkien's centenary in 1992 embossed in silver foil on front and back and satin pull attached (so as not to damage books when removing them from the slipcase)h . With a bookplate signed by the artist, Alan Lee, laid in.
First 3-volume color plate edition.… Read More

MARTIN Jr., Bill. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Pictures by Eric Carle. NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston [1983]. 4to, [24]pp. Orange boards with spine stamped in gold and front in blind. Color pictorial endpapers; color illustrations on every page. A fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (slight chipping to upper spine end). With a bookplate signed by the artist, Eric Carle, laid in.
Second edition, first printing. Featuring a slightly different cover illustration than the first edition, this edition from 1983 is delightful example of the book that launched Eric Carle's career as an illustrator (Bill Martin Jr. having spotted an advertisement Eric had illustrated and recommending him for this book based on that) as well as a collaboration between Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle that led to three other books in this series. A vibrant, rhythmic story that has become a classic, delighting children and adults for over 50 years!