Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - February - 2012 Issue

For the “Children” from Aleph-Bet Books

The one hundredth catalogue from Aleph-Bet Books.

The one hundredth catalogue from Aleph-Bet Books.

Aleph-Bet Books has reached a milestone. The Pound Ridge, New York, specialist in children's and illustrated books recently released their Catalogue 100. The format of their catalogues has been the same, at least for quite a while now. They offer 600 items, profusely illustrated with color photography, overwhelmingly both for children and illustrated. There are few catalogues quite as much fun to peruse. As adults, our tastes and interests diverge widely. As children, we all are entranced by the world of make-believe, whether that be talking animals, mystical lands, heroic adventures, or wizards and magic. Everyone likes children's books, whether child or not. Here are a few of this latest six hundred.

Item 51 is an unusual title for “Oz” author L. Frank Baum. Naturally, Baum is far and away best known for his Oz books, but he wrote many other books and series. However, outside of various fairy tales, he used pseudonyms for these other books so as not to interfere with his major works. After the release of The Emerald City of Oz in 1910, it was announced that the series would be discontinued. That freed Baum to use his name on other books he wrote. In 1911, Baum published the work here offered, The Daring Twins, under his own name. It is a mystery, amateur detective type of story, where 16-tear-old Phoebe Daring sets out to prove her brother, Phil, was falsely accused of thievery. The series was intended to appeal to both boys and girls in the 12 to 18 range, and using Baum's name was hoped to capture young people who had read the Oz books as children. There was a follow-up to this tale published in 1912, Phoebe Daring, and Baum wrote a substantial portion of what was intended to be the third book in the series. However, as finances became tight for publisher Reilly & Britton, it was decided to return to the proven best sellers, and by 1913, Baum was writing Oz books again. Priced at $500.

Here is another book with an Oz connection/non-connection. After the death of Baum in 1919, it was decided to keep the series going. Ruth Plumly Thompson was selected as “Royal Historian of Oz,” or perhaps we could simply refer to her the new author. Thompson would go on to produce 19 more Oz books between 1921 and 1939, five more than did Baum. She had only published one book prior to her appointment as Royal Historian, and wrote only two non-Oz books during her years producing the 19 Oz titles. John R. Neill was even more tied into the series than Thompson. Neill was an illustrator who took over the task of illustrating the books after the first in the series (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz). He drew the illustrations for the final 13 titles written by Baum, and was considered for the position of writer as well after his death. However, when that role was given to Thompson, he continued to illustrate the series, including all 19 of Thompson's titles. After Thompson's retirement, Neill finally took over the writing, writing and illustrating the next three titles in the series from 1940-42 (Neill died in 1943). However, Thompson and Neill collaborated on one non-Oz book, the second of two non-Oz books produced by Thompson during her tenure as Royal Historian. Item 527 is a copy of that collaboration, Curious Cruise of Captain Santa, published in 1926. It is a Christmas fantasy. $850.

Item 329 is a copy of a children's book beloved throughout the land and even the world, but most particularly in Massachusetts. Indeed, it is the official children's book of the state. It is the classic Make Way For Ducklings, written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey. The book is highlighted by the trip of Mrs. Mallard, leading her eight ducklings, from the Charles River to Boston's Public Garden. The Boston police provide the necessary escort, stopping traffic along the way, so the family is able to safely make the trip to their new home. The ducklings have become celebrated heroes in the city, almost like its revolutionary patriots. In fact, a statue of Mrs. Mallard and her eight children was erected within the Public Garden. Offered is a 1941 first edition of McCloskey's duck tale. $18,500.

You are probably familiar with Dorothy Kunhardt's notable touch book Pat the Bunny. You may have a copy in the attic, though probably not a first edition. Item 302 is Kunhardt's follow-up, The Telephone Book. No, this is not one of those big books full of numbers dinosaurs used to use before you could look up numbers online. It is a book with movable parts celebrating that black thing with a hand dial that used to be plugged into everyone's wall. The handset can be lifted to make a “call,” and the book instructs youngsters to say, “Hello?” Unfortunately, it does not tell them how to send text messages. $1,200.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    27th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 27: Dürer (Albrecht) Hierin sind begriffen vier bücher von menschlicher Proportion, 4 parts in 1, first edition, Nuremberg, Hieronymus Andreae for Agnes Dürer, 1528. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Book of Hours, Use of Rome, illuminated manuscript in Latin, on vellum, 26 fine hand-painted miniatures, 17th century dark brown morocco, [Lyon], [c. 1475 and later c. 1490-1500]. £25,000 to £35,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Brontë (Emily) The North Wind, watercolour, [1842]. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Titanic.- Mudd (Thomas Cupper, one of the youngest victims of the sinking of the Titanic, 1895-1912) Autograph Letter signed on board RMS Titanic to his mother, April 11th 1912. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    27th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 27: [Austen (Jane)] Emma: A Novel, 3 vol., first edition, for John Murray, 1816. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Picasso (Pablo).- Ovid. Les Metamorphoses, one of 95 copies, signed by the artist, Lausanne, Albert Skira, 1931. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: America.- Ogilby (John) America: Being the Latest, and Most Accurate Description of the New World..., all maps with vibrant hand-colouring in outline, probably by an early hand, 1671. £15,000 to £25,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Iceland.- Geological exploration.- Bright (Dr. Richard )and Edward Bird. Collection of twenty original drawings from travels in Iceland with Henry Holland and George Mackenzie, watercolours, [1810]. £20,000 to £30,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    The Library of Barry Humphries
    26th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 26: Beckford (William) [Vathek] An Arabian Tale, first (but unauthorised) edition, Lady Caroline Lamb's copy with her signature and notes, 1786. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Baudelaire (Charles) Les Fleurs du Mal, first edition containing the 6 suppressed poems, first issue, contemporary half black morocco, Paris, 1857. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Beardsley (Aubrey).- Pope (Alexander) The Rape of the Lock, one of 25 copies on Japanese vellum, Leonard Smithers, 1896. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Douglas (Lord Alfred) Sonnets, first edition, the dedication copy, with signed presentation inscription from the author to his wife Olive Custance, The Academy, 1909. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Forum Auctions
    The Library of Barry Humphries
    26th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 26: Crowley (Aleister) The Works..., 3 vol. in 1 (as issued)"Essay Competition" issue on India paper, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1905-07. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Rodin (Auguste).- Mirbeau (Octave) Le Jardin des Supplices, one of 30 copies on chine with an additional suite, bound in dark purple goatskin, Paris, 1902. £3,000 to £4,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Pellar (Hans) Eight original book illustrations for 'Der verliebte Flamingo' [together with] a published copy of the first edition of the book, 1923. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Cretté (Georges, binder).- Louÿs (Pierre) Les Aventures du Roi Pausole, 2 vol., one of 99 copies, with 2 original drawings, superbly bound in blue goatskin, gilt, Paris, 1930. £3,000 to £4,000.
  • Sotheby's
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    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
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    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
  • Swann
    Printed & Manuscript African Americana
    March 20, 2025
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 7: Thomas Fisher, The Negro's Memorial or Abolitionist's Catechism, London, 1825. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 78: Victor H. Green, The Negro Travelers' Green Book, New York, 1958. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 99: Rosa Parks, Hand-written recollection of her first meeting with Martin Luther King Jr., autograph manuscript, Detroit, c. 1990s. $30,000 to $40,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 154: Frederick Douglass, Autograph statement on voting rights, signed manuscript, 1866. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 164: W.E.B. Du Bois, What the Negro Has Done for the United States and Texas, Washington, circa 1936. $3,000 to $4,000.
    Swann
    Printed & Manuscript African Americana
    March 20, 2025
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 263: Susan Paul, Memoir of James Jackson, Boston, 1835. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 267: Langston Hughes, Gypsy Ballads, signed translation of García Lorca's poetry, Madrid, 1937. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 274: Malcolm X, Collection from Alex Haley's estate, 38 items, 1963-1971. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 367: Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave, Auburn, NY, 1853. $2,500 to $3,500.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 402: Anna Julia Cooper, A Voice from the South, Xenia, OH, 1892. $2,000 to $3,000.
  • Koller, Mar. 26: Wit, Frederick de. Atlas. Amsterdam, de Wit, [1680]. CHF 20,000 to 30,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: Merian, Maria Sibylla. Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung, und sonderbare Blumennahrung. Nürnberg, 1679; Frankfurt a. M. und Leipzig, 1683. CHF 20,000 to 30,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: GOETHE, JOHANN WOLFGANG VON. Faust. Ein Fragment. Von Goethe. Ächte Ausgabe. Leipzig, G. J. Göschen, 1790. CHF 7,000 to 10,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: Hieronymus. [Das hochwirdig leben der außerwoelten freünde gotes der heiligen altuaeter]. Augsburg, Johann Schönsperger d. Ä., 9. Juni 1497. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.
    Koller, Mar. 26: BIBLIA GERMANICA - Neunte deutsche Bibel. Nürnberg, A. Koberger, 17. Feb. 1483. CHF 40,000 to 60,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: HORAE B.M.V. - Stundenbuch. Lateinische Handschrift auf Pergament, Kalendarium französisch. Nordfrankreich (Rouen?). CHF 25,000 to 40,000

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