Rare books from Sparkle Books

Sydney: John Ferguson, 1982 This is a lovely set of five 1982 John Ferguson Australian Children's Classics. Faux leather boards, tipped in pictorial covers by Noela Young, gilt and tan spine panels, tan pussy willow motif on the spines and orange endpapers. Some of these are listed on Amazon at over one hundred dollars each! Authors and titles are as follows: Spence, Eleanor, The Summer In Between & Lillipilly Hill; Chauncey, Nan, Tiger in the Bush & Tangara; Bruce, Mary Grant, A Little Bush Maid & Mates At Billabong; Fatchen, Max, The River Kings & The Spirit Wind; Mitchell, Elyne, The Silver Brumby & Silver Brumby's Daughter. All are in very good to fine condition. There is no writing nor marks in any of the books; no age toning and some appear unread. Only the Spence volume has a half inch dent/tear on the back board. A lovely memento or introduction to some of the best of Australian children's literature in an attractive row!

New York: Appleton-Century-Croft, 1953 This Is A Copy Of This Scarce Book In The Appalachian And Rare Books Special Collection In The Carson-Newman College Library, Jefferson City Tennessee, And It Has Sufficient Literary Merit That An Ebook Is Now Available. It Has Quite An Elegant Former Owner Signature And Some Old Pencilled Prices On Ffep, Very Light Shelf Wear, Good Corners. Binding Has Very Slight Cant. Very Clean Pale Blue Boards With Red Spine And Lettering On Blue Rectangles. There Is No Indication That This Is Not The Original Edition Published In 1953. The List Of Previous Titles In The Prelims Ends With Hunter's Moon, Published Prior To This Book. Unusual Pages Showing Perforated Edges And Remarkably Clean And Unworn Text.

London & New York: Lawrence & Bullen Ltd, 1898 Beautifully Designed Two Volume Set In The Muses' Library Series Under The Auspeces Of The Unibersity Of Aberdeen. Lavish Gilt On Spine, Topedge And Boards (See Photo). Revised Edition, Frontispiece With Tissue Cover, Introduction By Charles Swinburne. Spine Slant, Browned Ffep In Both Volumes And Final Text Page In Volume 2. Former Owner Stamp And Signature On Half Title Page. Light Toning And Corner Rub But Very Good For Age, Save Cant To Spnes. Pages: 322 And 420.

Gordonsville, VA, U.S.A.: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1988 1988 Sunburst Edition. No Writing Or Marks, Light Rub To Corners, Some General Rumpling To Pages, But Very Good. A Most Appealing Illustration Of The Lyrics To Mommy Buy Me A China Doll With A Depiction True To Its Appalacian Folk Roots With The Depiction Of A Small Holding Family In Their Modest Home Amongst Their Belongings. A Rocking Chair,A Cradle, A Feather Bed, A Spinning Wheel, Some Animals. Margot Zemach Has Selected Red Ochre, Browns And Greens To Present A Moving And Good Humoured Warmth And Simplicity. You Can See That There Won't Be A China Doll Purchase, The Family Cannot Afford It, And It Doesn't Really Matter. This Ala Notable Book Is Quite Scarce And Fondly Remembered By Many.

New York: Dedalus/Hipocrene, 1996 Appears Unread, No Reading Creases Or Marks. Trade Paperback.

U.S.A.: Four Winds Press, 1980 Very Nice Copy In Very Good Plus Condition In Very Good Clipped Dust Jacket Signed By Ezra Jack Keats On The Title Page. There Is Also A Gift Inscription On The Endpaper. Stated First Printing Of The First Edition Of The 1980 Four Winds Press Edition. Classic Keats Story Of A Determined Little Boy Outside In His New Urban Neighbourhood Constructed With Painting And Collage. This One Has A Particularly Entertaining Array Of Characters And Street Scenes.

London: Max Parrish, 1958 Good To Very Good, Second Impression Max Parrish 1958, Hardcover In Acceptable Jacket. Lower Corner Clipped But Shows Original Price Of 10/6. There Appears To Be A Small Blue Ink Scribble Across Nigel's Face On The Front Panel (Although Given That These Are Searle's Illustrations, It Is Not Impossible That This Was Intentional). Clean Black Boards With Coppery Spine Lettering, Binding And Corners Intact, No Writing Or Marks. Slight Cant As Well As Two Round Impressions To Front Board, As If Stored Under Something With Feet (And The Waverley Novels). Small Mark To Back Panel. General Wear.

Toronto: Mcclelland & Stewart, 1963 This Is A Very Nice Copy Inscribed And Dated Nov 6, 1970 By Pierre Berton. I Believe It To Be From The 1963 Edition. It Has Clean Green Boards With Just A Little Rubbing To The Extremities. There Is A Darker Green Vignette On The Front Board And The Spine Titling Is In Orange And Dark Green. It Is A Mcclelland & Stewart 8Vo Stating Copyright, Canada, 1961 And Is Illustrated By William Winter With147-156 Pages. The Seven Titles By Pierre Berton Listed On The Copyright Page Were All Published By 1961 Or Earlier. All That Remains Of The Dust Jacket Is The Back Panel, Showing Pierre And Janet Berton And Six Children On A Boat. The Sixth, An Infant, I Suspect Is Peggy Ann, Who Was Born In 1963 And Presumably Did Not Exist In 1961, When Og, Describing The Five Eldest Berton Children, Was Written.

New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1981 Scarce 1981 Second Edition Farrar, Strauss And Giroux Of M.B. Goffstein's Third Book. In The 90'S Goffstein Decided To Stop Publishing As She Was Unhappy With The State Of Children's Books At That Time And Mourned The Loss Of The "Spirit Of Adventure, High-Mindedness, And Willingness To Take Risks." According To Washington Post Reviewer Maggie Stern," Like Porcelain, There Is More To Her Work Than Meets The Eye. Beneath The Delicacy And Fragility Is A Core Of Astounding Strength." This Is A Library Discard In Fair Condition With Dust Jacket And The Usual Library Markings. One Page Has A Small Stain And Another Has A Bit Of Green Watercolor In The Margin. Pink Boards With Half Green Cloth And Gilt Lettering In A Green And White Clipped Dust Jacket.

Toronto Canada: Henry Frowde, 1912 324Pp: (Iv) Page 320 Indicates British Printer Richard Clay And Sons). Very Scarce First Canadian Edition Of This Unusual Originally Anonymous Book Which Became Newsworthy When The Actress Author Came Forward. Green Boards With Gilt Lettering Are Quite Clean With A Bit Of Spotting And Wear At Lower Front Corner And Along Spine At The Front. Spine Lean. Front Hinge Is Weak And Partially Split. Two Former Owner Signatures On First Page Of Text. Very Slight Foxing To End Papers. Just Under 7-3/4".

Poland: Panstwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1971 Very Good and attractive collection of LaFontaine's Fairy Tales published in Poland in 1971 with illustrations by i[Jean Ignace Isidore Gerard]. Purple boards with white black illustration and gold highlights. Lacking dust jacket. Spine a bit faded. Violet endpapers.

New York: "Harry N. Abrams, Inc.", 2006 Very Good first printing, first edition 2006 Harry Abrams 30th Anniversary Edition of Gnomes. Unclipped Dust Jacket .has some rubbing across spine top and a 1/3 inch tear at front, Small puncture at rear. No writing or marks in text, clean bright pages and solid binding. bumping to outer top corners and rub to bottom. Large quarto with 212 pages.

London: Viking, 1982 Viking Kestrel Very Good Minus 1982 reprint Book without words depicting super tired parents trying to get their daughter to bed and to stay there! No writing or marks and corners are not rubbed, but there are two dings to the spine.Oblong with 28 pages. Glazed pictorial boards. Currently in high demand.

New York: Dial, 1968 I can't remember when I first became aware of Joan Baez, but it must have been one of those wonderful 60's or 70's times shared with good friends, good music and peace movement involvement. This is a first printing of her first memoir, written in 1968 and dedicated to young war resistors in prison. The pages are a bit toned and the front board is not pristine, but it is signed and in very good condition in an even better unclipped dust jacket with $3.95 cover price. See attached scans.

London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1952 Rare Classic biblio mystery in very scarce dust jacket stated first printing by Edwin Alfred Williams, writing as Edwin De Caire, somewhat of a mystery man himself. Said to have been born in Cairo in 1910, hence the nom de plume. Appears to have attended Cambridge in the 1930's, perhaps in agriculture? Lecturer in neurophysiology at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, wherein he wrote Master's thesis in that field in 1964. And yet, in January 1955, he advertised in the Government Gazette that he as a writer, intended to adopt his pen-name in place of his birth name because, "I have been embarassed and inconvenienced by being confused with other persons bearing the same surname as my own, particularly when travelling"(And herein lies the potential for a new biographical mystery to be written!). Dust jacket is unclipped and bears original price of 10/6. There is light wear to corners and edges and a price tag pull on the front panel, but colours remain… Read More