Search Results: Titles starting with B from Rare Illustrated Books

Viking Press: New York, 1951. First Edition. Rare American children's book. The action takes place in Koala Park where real teddy bears live in trees: Beautifully written and illustrated by William Pène Du Bois. Du Bois was arts editor for 'The Paris Review'. "Bear Party" won the Caldecott Medal in 1952. Octavo, bound in cloth-backed pictorial boards with original illustrated dustwrapper, 140 mm x 210 mm, 48 pages, colour illustrations throughout; a near fine copy.

Mosman, N.S.W.: The Pump Press, 1978. Limited Edition. Fine. Number 55 of 80 copies. Fine press publication regarding the work of Beatrice Webb (1858 -1943) and Sidney Webb (1859 -1947), noted English Fabian Socialists who visited Australia in 1898 addressing the United Trades and Labour Council in Adelaide. "Mrs Webb... remarked that public opinion in Australia and in all the colonies was strangely backward on the subject of factory legistlation. It should be the business of all trade unionists to destroy the idea that unregulated individual bargaining was the best for the worker. It was the restriction of the hours of labour that guaranteed the personal freedom of those who had to work..." [Beatrice Webb, Adelaide, 1898.]. Octavo, original string-bound paper wrappers, 8 pages, 2 photographic portraits, a fine copy.

London: T. Hurst and R. Dutton, 1801. The collected thoughts of Irish writer and esayist, Oliver Goldsmith (1730 - 1774). Includes excerpts from many of his works notably Citizen of the World (1762), originally published as Chinese Letters, or Letters from a Chinese Philosopher. Octavo, 252 pages, half bound leather, engraved frontispiece portrait of Goldsmith, an excellent copy.

Melbourne: Murfett and Company, 1947. Inscribed and signed by Peg Maltby. Slim folio in original illustrated colour card wrappers, 16 pages, full-page colour plates, a very good copy.

Adelaide Mail, 1938. Gibbs, May and Glover, Tom. Single sheet, one face printed in colour featuring Gumnut Babies 'Bib and Bub' by May Gibbs delivering Christmas presents with their friends and 'Skeeter and His Magic Ring' by Tom Glover. The reverse face of the sheet is the Christmas children's letters section. Single broadside sheet measuring 410 x 590 mm, some large chips have resulted in minor loss of images, else in good order for a publication of this age and nature.

London: Blackie and Son, 1903. ROBINSON, Charles. Edited by Walter Jerrold, this edition is distinctive for the vibrant and energetic drawings; each nursery rhyme in this large collection is illustrated, and the full-page colour plates feature some joyfully rendered eccentric characters. A 'must-have' last century accesory for the picture perfect grandparent. Delightful. Quarto, six colour plates (including the fronstispiece) and 12 plates in Robinson's distinctive three colour style; publisher's cloth, gilt spine ornament, blind blocked front board. A child has coloured one of the thousands of line drawn ornaments in crayon, previous owner's Chistmas gift insciption on front free endpaper, otherwise clean and bright throughout, an excellent copy.

1972. First Edition. 'The closing of the shutter is a death sentence, a guillotining of the moment. It is best left in the hands of a man at peace with himself.' -Cyril Conolly, in Bill Brandt's "Shadow of Light" Slim quarto booklet, staple bound in original illustrated wrappers, a very good copy of this Australian touring exhibition catalogue with twelve plates and an introduction by John Szarkowski: Antonio Tapies, (1964), Stonehenge Under Snow (1947), Gulls Nest, Late on a Mid-Summer Night, Isle of Skye (1947), Top Withens, West Riding, Yorkshire (1945), Framcis Bacon, Walking on Primrose Hill, (1963), Coal Search Going Home to Jarrow, (1937), Parlourmaid and Under-parlourmaid Ready to Serve Dinner, (1933), Northumbrian Miner at his Evening Meal, (1937), Drawing Room in Mayfair, (1938), Barmaid at the Crooked Billet, (1939), Perspective of Nudes series, (1952 - 1957), Common Lodging-house, near The Elephant and Castle (1936).

London: T. Nelson & Sons, 1937. A contribution based chiefly on a study of the Black-Headed Gull. "The Black-headed Gull owes its name to its hood. As the hood is brown, although it may seem black from a distance, the name is not happily chosen. It stresses, moreover, a feature that serves as identification mark in the breeding season only. Outside the breeding season the bird's head is white, with a few dark flacks. A better means of recogition, present at all seasons, is the red legs and beak... The assumption kept in view throughout the book is that the gull, and birds in general, have a mind as well as a body." Quarto, bound in dark blue cloth boards with gilt title, 232 pages, photographic illustrations, stamped 'Wellington College Natural History Society', a very good copy.

London: W.J.P. Monckton, 1901. First Edition. Delightful journal for children with short stories, comic strips and illustrations. Titled 'Father Christmas's Book Tea', Arthur Rackham's double-page illustration presents as many characters from children's literature as you can imagine. There is Little Red RIding Hood, the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, Straw Peter, Mother Goose, The Three Bears, Uncle Tom, Gulliver, Mogli from the Jungle Book, Hansel and Gretel, Little Bo Peep, four and twenty black birds flying from a pie... everyone you can imagine has come to meet Father Christmas. Also includes 'The Road to Rome, or the Silly Stowaway' by Edith Nesbit, 'The Christmas of the Poor Players' illustrated by Arthur Rackham, and 'The Hare that Doubled', again drawn by Rackham. Folio, bound in illustrated wrappers, 40 pages +advertisements, spotting throughout.

Racine (Wisconsin): Whitman Publishing, 1935. First Edition. Rare pirate 'pop-up' edition of Dorothy Wall's classic story about the young koala called Blinky Bill. This text is taken from the first Blinky Bill story, with all the associated images, and includes "magic action" pop-up interpretations of three of these. Such was the international appeal of Dorothy Wall's character that only two years after the appearance of the first Blinky Bill story, this pop-up book was published in America. Ironically this pirated publication, which never appeared in Australia, was protected by copyright and two separate patents! [Muir, 7845.]. Small square octavo, three double-page colour pop-up plates; a very good copy in the original stiff pictorial wrappers.

Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1935. Story and decorations by Dorothy Wall. Endearing early edition of an Australian children's classic. Second edition. Quarto, full page black and white plates, additional line drawings throughout; original green lettered papered boards; small elegant 'Margaret Hilder' ownership stamp on front free endpaper, stationeer's stamp on lower margin of title page, half-title quite browned, a very good and handsome copy nonetheless.

London: Frederick Warne and Co, 1900. LEAR, Edward. Illustrations by Lear on every page, one of the most famous and popular collections of poems for children in English. Two volumes in one. Oblong Quarto, pictorial Green Cloth, rare with illlustrated dust jacket complete with original mounted colour decoration (jacket is slightly chipped at the edges); a very good copy.

New York: The Century Co, 1908. A finely produced publication dedicated to the magic of the pearl, rarely found in such lovely original condition. Published in New York in 1908, this work is a splendid example of fine book production. Amongst much of interest, there is a long chapter on the Australian pearling industry: "As regards areas of distribution the most extensive pearl-oyster grounds of the world are situated on the northern and western coasts of Australia" the nude divers in the Australian pearl fisheries are mostly Malays and Australian aborigines." (Chapter IX). Large octavo, colour frontispiece and numerous black & white and coloured plates throughout; a very good copy in the original gilt-decorated cloth.

Sydney: Bulletin Newspaper Company, Limited, 1899. First Edition. Offering insight into the publishing scene in Australia at the turn of the nineteenth century, including reviews of new releases and broader thoughts on the ethics of criticism. Duodecimo, original light blue illustrated wrappers, 24 pages, a very good copy. Rare.

Sydney: Bulletin Newspaper Company, Limited, 1899. First Edition. Offering insight into the publishing scene in Australia at the turn of the nineteenth century, including reviews of new releases and broader thoughts on the ethics of criticism. Includes a five-page illustrated feature on Aubrey Beardsley. Duodecimo, original light blue illustrated wrappers, 48 pages, a very good copy. Rare.

1926. Rare signed bookplate by hailed master of the medium, Adrian Feint, featuring a portrait of the celebrated Australian artist, Thea Proctor, engraved with her initials. Hand-coloured wood engraving of a lady with a parasol, bookplate, 63 mm x 60 mm, signed in pencil lower right.

London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1860. Attractive collection of coloured zoological plates prepared for British schoolchildren during the mid-nineteenth century, including two Australian species (an emu and a kangaroo). The plates were issued by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, the publishing arm of the Anglican mission that during the early decades of the nineteenth century diversified its output from religious and theological texts to encompass a broad range of educational material, such as the present example. The plates were originally issued separately, priced at two pennies apiece when coloured, and the present bound volume represents a good portion of the entire series (of the 119 plates here, 53 are numbered). The explanatory text reflects a spirit of benevolent pedagogy. Take the description of the Emu for example: ‘These birds are widely spread over the southern part of New Holland, and the neighbouring islands. They are met with at Port Philip and King… Read More

Paris: Librarie des Amateurs, 1901. First edition thus. MONCHAU, Emile. Limited edition of 1000 copies, of which this is number 12. Illustrations by Emile Monchau. A delightful period piece in Art Noveau style with ravishing floral border decorations to every page. Edition of 1000 copies. Small quarto, original illustrated wrappers, floral ornament throughout, lower spine end shows some wear; loose in wrappers, lower spine end shows some wear and has been papered over, small mild water mark affects the last leaf, a very good and attractive copy.

London: John Murray, 1871. First Edition. The surprisingly scarce first edition of this famous juvenile; Ferguson records only a later impression [Ferguson, 15755]. The attractive vignettes used as chapter-headings include rather good views of Melbourne and Sydney as well as Auckland, Honolulu and Niagara. Engaging travelogue filled with wonderful descriptions and adventures. Octavo, with steel-engraved illustrations; original green cloth binding, decorated in black and gilt, prize inscription dated 1872 on front frre endpaper, a good copy, joints rubbed.

London: Methuen, 1934. Wall, Dorothy. First edition of this scarce and finely-produced work. Although published a year after the first Blinky Bill title, the illustrative style of Bridget and the Bees harks back to Wall's delicate drawings for J.J. Hall's The Crystal Bowl, published in 1921, and suggests that it was written and illustrated well before its publication date. This is the rare English edition, which was followed by an American edition in 1935. Large octavo, eight plates in colour (including the frontispiece), rebound in half brown cloth retaining original papered boards, endpapers renewed, a good sound copy.