Children's
Rare first editions, signed and inscribed copies, deluxe and collectible editions of books, pamphlets, and ephemera relating to books written for children or juveniles.
First editions of children's classics, including Roald Dahl, Beatrix Potter, J. K. Rowling, A. A. Milne and J. M. Barrie.From the blog: 'Dear Boys and Girls': Enid Blyton's personal brand
Harry Potter and the Literary Allusions: J. K. Rowling's influences
"Too Fancy and Ingenious": children's books by adult writers
-
DISNEY, Walt (inscr.); TAYLOR, Deems. Fantasia.New York : 1940
First edition, first printing. Inscribed by Walt Disney, "To David Von Kessell sincerely Walt Disney." David was the son of Disney Imagineer, Glendra von Kessel. Learn More£6,000.00Stock Code: 111964
-
MILNE, A. A. When We Were Very Young.London : July 1925
Tenth impression, second deluxe edition. When We Were Very Young was first published on 6 November 1924. Copies of the seventh and tenth impressions were later issued in deluxe bindings. Milne had no particular ambition to write for children, but in 1922 a glimpse of his two-year-old son Christopher being taught to pray by his nanny inspired him to... Learn More£1,000.00Stock Code: 96008
-
SACKVILLE-WEST, Vita. Nursery Rhymes.Bayntun : 1947
First edition, limited issue, number 344 of 550 copies on handmade paper, presentation copy inscribed on the half-title "Inscribed for Lucienne Gow by V. Sackville-West". The recipient was the first chairman of the Tenterden Trust, in current Ashford Borough, near Sissinghurst. Only the first 25 copies were issued signed, inscribed copies are rather... Learn More£975.00Stock Code: 144628
-
BRANGWYN, Frank (illus.); FITZGERALD, Edward. Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.London & Edinburgh : 1919
Deluxe edition, limited to 350 unnumbered copies. Rubáiyáts with Brangwyn's illustrations were published from 1906 onwards; this edition, the most comprehensive and elaborate, includes seven illustrations by the artist hitherto unpublished. The text is that of the first edition of 1859. Learn More£375.00Stock Code: 138906
-
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); IRVING, Washington. Rip Van Winkle.London : 1905
Second impression. Signed by Rackham on the title page. Learn More£975.00Stock Code: 129291
-
GRAHAME, Kenneth; SHEPARD, Ernest H. (illus.) The Wind in the Willows.London : 1931
First Shepard edition, signed limited issue, number 170 of 200 large paper copies signed by both author and artist. This edition - also issued unsigned in a cloth binding - was the first edition to be illustrated by Shepard, whose classic illustrations of anthropomorphized animals render this the most popular version of the book even today.
Wind... Learn More£15,000.00Stock Code: 145516
-
DISNEY, Walt. The Adventures of Mickey Mouse. Story and Illustrations by Staff of Walt Disney Studio. Book I.Philadelphia : 1931
First edition, first printing, of the first Mickey Mouse picture book. Learn More£2,250.00Stock Code: 138581
-
BURROUGHS, Edgar Rice. Tarzan of The Apes.Chicago, : 1914
First edition, first printing, with printer's name to copyright page in old English type. A wonderful example of the Chelsea Bindery's work. Learn More£4,000.00Stock Code: 124600
-
DISNEY, Walt (inscr.); THOMAS, Bob. Walt Disney: the Art of Animation.New York : 1958
First edition, first printing, inscribed by Walt Disney on the verso of the front free endpaper, "To Vita Best Wishes Walt Disney", of one of the pillars of Disney bibliography and the definitive work on Disney animation to that date.
Additionally it is inscribed by Roy Disney and contains the signatures of more than 100 other people in the... Learn More£8,750.00Stock Code: 138684
-
MILNE, A. A. Now We Are Six.London : 1927
First edition, first impression, of the third book in the Winnie-the-Pooh series. Alongside Milne's verse, this collection is also notable for including many illustrations of Pooh, Piglet, and the other nursery toys, even when uncalled for by the poems. Learn More£1,950.00Stock Code: 134424
-
![Alice's Adventures in Wonderland [together with] Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There.](https://d3dzzbbvj9im7s.cloudfront.net/media/catalog/product/cache/ae0834d12b7cf129fc73bcc000ea526a/1/4/145478.jpg)
CARROLL, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland [together with] Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There.London : 1868 & 1872
First edition of Through the Looking-Glass, together with an early edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, this being from the 12th thousand, published just three years after the first edition of 1865, handsomely bound as a set by Bayntun of Bath. The Alice books earned the author "a place in the firmament of the great, for they are not only acts... Learn More£7,500.00Stock Code: 145478
-
![The House at Pooh Corner. [With an original pen and ink drawing of Winnie-the-Pooh.]](https://d3dzzbbvj9im7s.cloudfront.net/media/catalog/product/cache/ae0834d12b7cf129fc73bcc000ea526a/1/3/138703comp.jpg)
MILNE, A. A.; SHEPARD, E. H. (illus.) The House at Pooh Corner. [With an original pen and ink drawing of Winnie-the-Pooh.]London : 1929
Third edition. With an original pen and ink drawing on the title page by Shepard of Winnie-the-Pooh in full traditional Russian costume including a fur hat and playing a balalaika, signed beneath the image. Rare thus.
Milne began planning his final Pooh book in 1927. Three years of intense publicity were taking their toll on the family, and Milne... Learn More£17,500.00Stock Code: 138703
-
MILNE, A. A., & E. H. Shepard. Signed photographic portraits.[c.1920s.]
Milne's association with Punch began in 1904, when he published his first piece for the magazine, shortly after coming down from Cambridge. He was made assistant editor in 1906 as he forged a career as a successful poet and playwright. At about the same time, E.H.Shepard, not long out of the Royal Academy, started contributing sketches and cartoons... Learn More£3,500.00Stock Code: 144834
-
POLITI, Leo. The Mission Bell.New York : 1953
First edition, first printing. Presentation copy, elaborately inscribed with drawings of flowers by Politi on the front free endpaper: "Julia Carter, with gratitude, Leo Politi". Learn More£200.00Stock Code: 145197
-
DAHL, Roald. The BFG.London : 1982
First edition, first impression. Dahl's fantastical tale was expanded from a short story within his 1975 book Danny, the Champion of the World. A film adaptation, directed by Steven Spielberg, was released in 2016. Learn More£425.00Stock Code: 145151
-
DAHL, Roald. The Minpins.London : 1991
First edition, first impression, number 67 of 500 special presentation proof copies, with the publisher's limitation sticker to half-title. This was Roald Dahl's final work written for children, published posthumously. Minpin was the nickname Dahl used for his daughter, Ophelia, to whom he dedicated the book. Learn More£325.00Stock Code: 145152
-
DAHL, Roald. Going Solo.London : 1986
First edition, first impression. Going Solo continues Dahl's autobiography from his account of his childhood years in Boy, describing his travels in Africa and his experiences in the RAF. Learn More£100.00Stock Code: 145125
-
DAHL, Roald. The Vicar of Nibbleswicke.London : 1991
First edition, first impression. The Vicar of Nibbleswicke was written in the last days of Roald Dahl's life for the benefit of the Dyslexia Institute, with a dyslexic protagonist. Both Dahl and Blake donated their rights of the book to the institute. Learn More£125.00Stock Code: 145126
-
GOBLE, Warwick (illus.); BASILE, Giambattista. Stories from the Pentamerone.London : 1911
First Goble edition, first impression. The deluxe limited edition, one of only 150 copies. The Pentamerone was a seminal fairy-tale collection containing early forms of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Puss in Boots, Sleeping Beauty and Hansel and Gretel. It was originally written down from oral Italian sources by poet Giambattista Basile in the 17th century,... Learn More£1,500.00Stock Code: 145124
-
DONALDSON, Julia. The Gruffalo's Child.London : 2008
First gift edition, signed by both the author and illustrator on the title page, with an original small ink drawing of the Gruffalo's Child by Scheffler alongside his signature. The Gruffalo's Child was first published in September 2004. Learn More£950.00Stock Code: 145404
-
DONALDSON, Julia. The Gruffalo's Child.London : 2008
First gift edition, signed by both the author and illustrator on the title page, with an original small ink drawing of a mouse by Scheffler alongside his signature. The Gruffalo's Child was first published in September 2004. Learn More£950.00Stock Code: 145402
-
SEUSS, Dr. I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!New York : 1978
First edition, first printing. Learn More£350.00Stock Code: 145154
-
NORTON, Mary. The Borrowers.London : 1952
First edition, first impression. Winner of the 1952 Carnegie Medal, on the 70th anniversary celebration of the medal in 2007, The Borrowers was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works. Learn More£2,750.00Stock Code: 127494
-
DAHL, Roald. Fantastic Mr. Fox.New York : 1970
First edition, first printing. The US edition preceded the UK edition, published the same year. Fantastic Mr Fox formed the basis for Wes Anderson's 2009 film of the same name and has been successfully adapted into both a stage play and an opera. Learn More£650.00Stock Code: 145148
-
GREENAWAY, Kate. A Day in a Child's Life.London : [1881]
First edition, first issue (green boards and endpapers), retaining the rare dust jacket, in exceptional condition. Learn More£1,950.00Stock Code: 144667
-
GREENAWAY, Kate. Mother Goose or the Old Nursery Rhymes.London and New York : [1881]
First edition, second issue in the lattice binding with upside-down G and the contents list on the verso of the front free endpaper. Very scarce in the dust jacket. Learn More£500.00Stock Code: 144439
-
SPYRI, Johanna. Heidi kann brauchen, was es gelernt hat.Gotha : 1881
First edition of the second of Spyri's Heidi books, issued both in cloth (matching the binding of Heidi's Lehr - und Wanderjahre which was published the preceding year) and in this pictorial binding as volume five in a series by Perthes titled "Geschichte für Kinder...von Johanna Spyri". Learn More£1,250.00Stock Code: 144457
-
SALTEN, Felix. Bambi.Berlin : 1923
First edition in book form, first printing, of this children's classic, the basis for the 1942 Disney film; this first edition, in German, was followed by an English translation in 1928. The story first appeared serially in Die Neue Freie Presse in 1922. Learn More£1,750.00Stock Code: 144394
-
WHITE, E. B. Stuart Little.New York : 1945
First edition, first printing (stated first edition and correct publisher's code), in the first issue dust jacket (printed price of 2.00 to front flap). Stuart Little was E.B. White's first children's book, preceding Charlotte's Web by some seven years. Learn More£875.00Stock Code: 144404
-
SALTEN, Felix. Bambi, A Life in the Woods.New York : 1928
First edition in English, first printing, of this children's classic, the basis for the 1942 Disney film. The German-language original was first published in Berlin in 1923. Learn More£750.00Stock Code: 144408
-
LIPPINCOTT, Joseph Wharton. The Wahoo Bobcat.Philadelphia : 1950
First edition, first printing, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper: "To Julia Carter, I take as much pleasure in offering this copy to you as I did in writing the story - Joseph W. Lippincott, 1950". Learn More£150.00Stock Code: 142004
-
ROBINSON, Charles (illus.); SHARP, Evelyn. The Child's Christmas.London : [1906]
First edition, first impression. Learn More£2,450.00Stock Code: 105837
-
MORPURGO, Michael. War Horse.Kingswood : 1982
First edition, first impression. Most copies of the first edition of War Horse went to school libraries and the book is now correspondingly scarce in commerce in collectable condition. The author's celebrated novel was adapted into a hugely successful play in 2007, and was the basis of the 2011 Steven Spielberg film of the same title. Learn More£1,500.00Stock Code: 145145
-
FLEMING, Ian. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The Magical Car.London : 1964-65
First editions, first impressions, of the complete set of Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang stories. Learn More£1,650.00Stock Code: 145146
-
NESBIT, Edith. Oswald Bastable, and Others.London : 1905
First edition, first impression. The book collects the author's assorted magazine stories, including four relating to Oswald Bastable and his family, first introduced in Nesbit's The Story of the Treasure Seekers in 1899. This copy preserves the rare jacket (in very fine condition), and has the first state of p. 96 reading p. 69. Learn More£2,000.00Stock Code: 144358
-
PEAKE, Mervyn. Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor.London : 1967
Third edition of Peake's classic children's book, first published in 1939. Learn More£45.00Stock Code: 144355
-
ANDERSEN, Hans Christian. Hans Andersen's Story Book:New York : 1849
First collected American edition. The volume contains 27 of Hans Andersen's stories translated into English by Mary Howitt and Charles Boner, including "The Snow Queen", "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Real Princess" (better known as "The Princess and the Pea"), and "The Red Shoes", together with a short biography of Andersen by Howitt.
Selections... Learn More£1,750.00Stock Code: 144875
-
MILNE, A. A. Winnie-the-Pooh.London : 1976
Rare presentation copy of the 50th anniversary edition, number 27 of 300 copies signed by Christopher Robin Milne. This copy has been fulsomely inscribed by Christopher Robin to the winner of "The Hum with Pooh" poetry competition:"Dear Mubina Punjani, this book tells you that you have been awarded First Prize in your age group in The Hum with Pooh... Learn More£3,000.00Stock Code: 145209
-
DAHL, Roald. The Commemorative Limited Edition of the Works.London : 1991
The Commemorative Edition, limited to 500 sets of which this is number 323. This edition was published to celebrate Dahl's 75th birthday on 13th September 1991. Learn More£2,500.00Stock Code: 143271
-
DAHL, Roald. The Magic Finger.London : 1968
First UK edition, first impression, inscribed by the author on the title page, "Christopher Radmell, Roald Dahl". Rarely found inscribed, Magic Finger was first published two years earlier in the US.
Dahl had originally begun work on it in 1962, under its original title of The Almost Ducks. In the story, an eight-year-old girl, who hates to see... Learn More£3,750.00Stock Code: 140580
-
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); GRAHAME, Kenneth. The Wind in the Willows.London : 1951
Deluxe edition, number 323 of 500 copies. This the one-hundredth edition of Grahame's timeless classic, which was originally published in 1908, with just a frontispiece, by Graham Robertson. Rackham's illustrations for the text first appeared in the Limited Editions Club edition of 1940, and it was the last work he illustrated. "During his last illness... Learn More£4,250.00Stock Code: 110662
-
FARRAR, Frederic W. Eric,Edinburgh : 1891
Handsomely bound copy of the 25th edition of Farrar's novel. Originally published in 1858, Eric, together with Tom Hughes' Tom Brown's Schooldays, "effectively established the school story as a new genre However, while Tom Brown conveys the enthusiasms of the author's games-playing schooldays and is still readable today, Eric is a vividly sentimental... Learn More£200.00Stock Code: 141147
-
ADAMS, Richard. Watership Down.Harmondsworth : 1976
First illustrated edition, signed limited issue, number 226 of 250 specially bound copies signed by both the author and illustrator. This copy has an original watercolour depicting Nuthanger Farm, drawn and initialled by the illustrator, on the first blank.
Adams's first novel, Watership Down was initially turned down by the major publishing... Learn More£6,500.00Stock Code: 144894
-
POTTER, Beatrix. Original drawing of a mouse curtsying in front of a tea cup from the Tailor of Gloucester.[Near Sawrey,] : 1927
Signed and dated November 1927 in pen lower right and inscribed "From the "Tailor of Gloucester", Copyright of F Warne & Co" by Potter. This is a delightful image from one of Potter's most famous works, a redrawing of the illustration first published in The Tale of Gloucester, London, 1902.
The paper, dimensions, signature and date indicate... Learn More£20,000.00Stock Code: 144268
-
HOUSEHOLD, Geoffrey. The Spanish Cave.Boston : 1936
First edition, first printing, of the author's first novel. His best-known title is Rogue Male (1939). Learn More£100.00Stock Code: 144797
-
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); CARROLL, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.London : [1907]
Limited edition of 1,130 copies. Unusually, Rackham did not sign this limited edition, as he was out of the country while it was in preparation. Learn More£5,000.00Stock Code: 107351
-
POTTER, Beatrix. The Tailor of Gloucester.London : 1903
First trade edition, first impression, with a single-page pictorial endpaper occurring four times, which was replaced with double-page endpapers in later impressions. Eleven of the illustrations are repeated from the privately printed edition and 16 are entirely new for this edition. This trade edition was published in October 1903. Learn More£1,500.00Stock Code: 118306
-
DAHL, Roald. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More.London : 1977
First edition, first impression. With the author's signed inscription to the verso of the half-title. Learn More£1,500.00Stock Code: 99107
-
DAHL, Roald. Rhyme Stew.London : 1989
First edition, first impression, of this collection of quirky poetry adapted from traditional nursery tales. Learn More£150.00Stock Code: 144569
-
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); BARRIE, J. M. Peter Pan In Kensington GardensLondon : 1906
First Rackham edition. Barrie asked Rackham to illustrate not the play Peter Pan (which remained unpublished until 1928) but make a new book from those chapters from The Little White Bird (1902) that had first introduced the character. Signed by Rackham on the half-title. Learn More£3,500.00Stock Code: 134784
-
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); IBSEN, Henrik. Peer Gynt.London : 1936
Deluxe edition, number 6 of ten "special copies" reserved by the publisher, presented in a specially commissioned luxury binding and including a delightful full-page original pen-and-ink and watercolour drawing by Rackham (signed "Arthur Rackham 36"), showing Peer Gynt being swarmed by the trolls and surrounded by anthropomorphic trees. Describing his... Learn More£25,000.00Stock Code: 135675
-
SEUSS, Dr. The Cat in the Hat.New York : 1957
First edition, first issue, with the price listed on the dust jacket as 200/200 and the boards not laminated as in later issues. Learn More£3,000.00Stock Code: 99962
-
DAHL, Roald. Boy.New York : 1984
First US edition, signed limited issue, number 82 of 200 copies signed by the author. Dahl's autobiographical collection of childhood stories was first published in the UK earlier the same year. Learn More£1,750.00Stock Code: 144570
-
LEAF, Munro. Robert Francis Weatherbee.New York : 1935
First edition, first printing, inscribed by the author "For Jimmie Peck, from Marie Louise and with the very best wishes of her friend Munro Leaf 1935" with two small drawings of Robert Francis Weatherbee next to the inscription. Leaf is best known for his 1936 work The Story of Ferdinand, which was published a few months before the outbreak of the... Learn More£300.00Stock Code: 139617
-
MORPURGO, Michael. War Horse.Kingswood : 1982
First edition, first impression. Most copies of the first edition of War Horse went to school libraries and the book is now correspondingly scarce in commerce in collectable condition. The author's celebrated novel was adapted into a hugely successful play in 2007, and was the basis of the 2011 Steven Spielberg film of the same title. Learn More£1,500.00Stock Code: 144511
-
![The Amulet of Samarkand; [together with:] The Golem's Eye; [and:] Ptolemy's Gate.](https://d3dzzbbvj9im7s.cloudfront.net/media/catalog/product/cache/ae0834d12b7cf129fc73bcc000ea526a/1/4/143296.jpg)
STROUD, Jonathan. The Amulet of Samarkand; [together with:] The Golem's Eye; [and:] Ptolemy's Gate.London : 2003-2004-2005
First editions, first impressions, of the complete Bartimaeus Trilogy. Learn More£125.00Stock Code: 143296
-
DAHL, Roald. The Magic Finger.London : 1968
First UK edition, first impression. Dahl had originally begun work on it in 1962, under its original title of The Almost Ducks. In the story, an eight-year-old girl, who hates to see animals killed for fun, develops a special power, similar to that of Matilda. The book was part of a project in which a group of writers were asked to create a story for... Learn More£375.00Stock Code: 69449
-
DAHL, Roald. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More.London : 1977
First edition, first impression. Inscribed on the front free endpaper, "To Sonia with love Roald Dahl, March 1981". Learn More£1,500.00Stock Code: 86898
-
RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); GRIMM, The Brothers. Grimm's Fairy Tales.London : 1973
First edition thus, handsomely bound. Grimm's fairy tales were first accompanied by Rackham's illustrations in 1900. Learn More£575.00Stock Code: 140364
-
RACKHAM, Arthur. Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes.London : 1971
Finely bound reissue of the Rackham Mother Goose, originally published in 1913. Learn More£500.00Stock Code: 140365
