Welcome to a new blog from Morocco Books and Collectibles! Starting this month, we will be presenting themed catalogues of various items of interest which have come into stock. This month we kick off with a collection of children's books, including some rare books and ephemera. If there are any items which pique your interest, please don't hesitate to get in touch, either by sending a message below or contacting us at moroccobooks1000@gmail.com.
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Children’s books, by virtue of the fact that they seldom survive the rigours of the nursery, have become an obvious focus for bibliophiles. Whether it’s due to the sumptuous art, the fantastic stories, or simply a nostalgic sense of trying to recapture youthful memories, books designed for children often become highly sought-after by collectors and can attract surprising sums on the open market. At Morocco Books, we keep a keen eye out for items in this category and we are happy to present to you the fruits of our sifting!
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(71619) Louisa M. Alcott (Adolf
Thiede, illus.), Little Women, Collins’ Clear-Type Press, London, nd.
(c.1903).
Octavo; hardcover, decorated
cloth with gilt spine and upper board titles; 248pp., with a colour
frontispiece and seven plates likewise. Moderate wear; covers rubbed and edgeworn;
corners bumped; spine extremities softened; mild insect damage to the boards;
text block edges toned; light offset to the endpapers; a school prize
inscription in contemporary ink to the flyleaf; light scattered foxing mainly
to the preliminaries. Very good.
Originally published in two volumes across 1868-9, Alcott created the world’s first semi-autobiographical novel with this work, loosely based as it was upon the lives of herself and her sisters. Instantly adored by the readership, the book has rarely been out of print since its first publication. It tells the stories of the four March sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy – and drives home the then current theme that domesticity, work and true love are necessary to the achievement of a woman’s identity. Alcott subtly mixed tropes of the Nineteenth Century children’s novel with elements of the romance novels of her day to create an enduring work of young adult fiction.
$35
(73881) W.H.G. Kingston (W.S. Stacey, illus.), Twice Lost - The Kingston Library edition, Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., London, nd. (c.1912).
Octavo; hardcover, full
decorated cloth, with gilt spine and upper board titles and decorations; 396pp.
(+4pp. of adverts), with a colour frontispiece (with tissue guard), a decorated
colour title page, and four plates likewise. Moderate wear; a little rolled;
boards lightly rubbed; spine heel softened; some light corner-bumping; text
block edges mildly toned with some mild marks and spotting; light offset to the
endpapers; some light scattered foxing mainly to the preliminaries; a school
prize inscription in contemporary ink to the flyleaf. No dustwrapper. Very
good.
William Henry Giles Kingston
was an enthusiastic colonialist who penned novels designed to inspire young
British men into adopting a life at sea and enjoying the benefits of the
Colonial Empire. He wrote over 100 novels for boys during his life and inspired
the creation of many magazines designed to encourage the adventuring spirit,
such as “Boy’s Own Magazine” and “The Union Jack” which he
founded just a few months before his death. While not entirely ideologically palatable
these days, his books are often great specimens of decorated cloth binding
techniques, of which this is a fine example.
$45
Reprint: royal octavo;
hardcover, quarter-bound in cloth with illustrated boards and a tipped-on upper
board decoration and decorative endpapers; 100pp. with many monochrome
illustrations and one other colour plate. Moderate wear; boards rubbed and edgeworn;
spine extremities softened; text block edges toned; hinges cracked; some
pencilled marginalia to the rear endpapers. No dustwrapper. Very good.
May Gibbs moved from England
to Western Australia in 1885 and developed her love of the Australian Bush from
the age of eight. She trained in illustration through various schools and
institutions in Australia and England, honing her craft as a cartoonist, becoming
Australia’s first female resident political cartoonist and caricaturist. Moving
to Sydney in 1913, she began work on what would become her best-known creation
– “Snugglepot and Cuddlepie”. Her iconic Bush Baby tales and art are
instantly recognisable; this first sequel to her three-part adventure series first
appeared in 1920 and has rarely been out of print since then.
$130
(72490) "Berkeley
Gray" (Edwy Searles Brooks) ("Mays", illus.), The Lost World
of Everest, William Collins Sons and Co. Ltd., London, 1945.
Octavo; hardcover, full cloth with silver-gilt spine and upper board titles and decorations; 256pp., with a monochrome frontispiece and two plates likewise. Moderate wear; rolled; spine extremities softened; text block edges toned; second plate partially detached (but strong). Dustwrapper well rubbed and edgeworn with some chipping and associated creasing; now backed by archival-quality white paper and protected by non-adhesive polypropylene wrap. Very good.
Jodhpurs and jawlines! Our hero Lord William "Big Bill" Gresham takes his two best pals to the summit of Everest only to be cast into a subterranean world populated by a lost tribe of Brits and a devolved race of radioactive Tunnel Men. One part The Lost World, one part The Time Machine, this is “Boy's Own” adventuring at its best with all the stiff upper-lippedness you'd expect!
$50
(71617) Charles
Nordhoff & James Norman Hall (N.C. Wyeth, illus.), The Bounty Trilogy -
Wyeth edition, Comprising the Three Volumes "Mutiny on the
Bounty", "Men Against the Sea" & "Pitcairn's
Island", Little Brown and Company, Boston MA, 1951.
Reprint: octavo; hardcover,
full cloth with upper board decoration and endpaper maps; 691pp., untrimmed,
with a colour frontispiece and seven plates likewise. Moderate wear; a little
shaken; text block edges toned and top edge dusted; minor offset to the
endpapers. Dustwrapper is rubbed and edgeworn; spine panel heavily sunned with
some chipping to the head (some loss of text); a few small tears to the edges,
now professionally repaired; professionally covered by archival-quality
non-adhesive polypropylene wrap. Very good.
Charles Nordhoff wrote what was - at that time - the definitive history of the "Bounty" mutiny and the three volumes of his magnum opus are collected here, accompanied by the heroic illustrations of N.C. Wyeth, an American illustrator better known for his rollicking depictions of pirates.
$120
*****
Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton (1897-1968) has become
a by-word for children’s literature and since the 1930s her books have always sold
well. From the late ‘fifties she began to fall from favour, with charges
levelled against her saying that her books were racist, sexist, elitist and
just poorly written (which saw her works banned from being read aloud on the
BBC), none of which was ever convincingly proved. Nevertheless, the vast range of her bibliography has kept collectors busy
ever since.
(75878) Enid Blyton, Six Enid Blyton Plays - "The Princess and the Enchanter"; "Robin Hood and the Butcher"; "The Enchanted Cap"; "A Visit to Nursery-Rhyme Land"; "The Squirrel's Secret"; & "The Whistling Brownies", Methuen & Co. Ltd., London, 1950.
Reprint: octavo; hardcover, with upper board titles; 166pp. Moderate wear; a little cocked; boards rubbed and edgeworn with some marks; corners lightly bumped; text block edges toned with some spots; mild offset to the endpapers' previous owners' ink inscriptions to the front endpapers. Lacks dustwrapper. Very good.
$18
(75479) Enid Blyton (Elizabeth
Wall & Barbara Freeman, illus.), The Put-Em-Rights, Lutterworth
Press, London, 1954.
Reprint: octavo; hardcover, with upper board decoration; 168pp. with a colour frontispiece and many monochrome illustrations. Minor wear; spotting to the text block edges; previous owner's ink stamp to the flyleaf. Dustwrapper is a little rubbed and edgeworn; some large chips to the spine panel extremities and the top of the lower panel, with associated creasing; some light chipping to the flap-turns; now professionally protected by non-adhesive polypropylene wrap. Very good.
$20
(75548) Enid Blyton (W.
Lindsay Cable, illus.), Fifth Formers of St. Clare's - The Sixth Book of St.
Clare's, Methuen & Co. Ltd., London, 1955.
Reprint: octavo; hardcover,
with upper board title and decoration; 162pp., with a monochrome frontispiece
and many other illustrations likewise. Moderate wear; rolled and a little
shaken; spine extremities softened; text block edges lightly toned with some
spotting and top edge dusted; mild offset to the endpapers; a small pen
scribble to the flyleaf; top edges of the frontis. and title page a little
torn. Dustwrapper is rubbed and edgeworn; spine extremities and flap-turns
mildly chipped; a few small tears to the edges with some associated creasing;
now professionally protected by non-adhesive polypropylene wrap. Very good.
$60
(71094) Enid Blyton (William
McLaren, illus.), Let's Garden, Purnell Books/MacDonald & Company
(Publishers) Ltd., London, 1987.
Octavo; hardcover, with illustrated boards and decorative endpapers; 208pp., with a decorative monochrome title page and many illustrations likewise. Mild wear; spine a little sunned; some very light spotting to the text block edges and preliminaries. No dustwrapper as issued. Very good.
$20
*****
Ivy L. Wallace
Wallace was turned down as a writer and illustrator by William Collins & Co., but after meeting the owner of the company, she stole his heart and was inevitably published. Her work is whimsical and finely-drawn – she originally drew the character of Pookie as a standard rabbit sitting next to a fairy on a mushroom; but, as she considered fairies “two a penny” in the children’s book market at the time, she erased the elf leaving only its wings attached to the bunny. The rest is history. Pookie – along with its nine sequels - was an international sensation, translated into many languages and even turned into a half-hour radio show in Australia. The untimely death of her husband saw Wallace retire from writing and illustration, so Pookie passed early from view; her works are only produced sporadically, and the early editions are much sought-after.
(76258) Ivy L. Wallace, Pookie,
William Collins and Co. Ltd., London, 1955.
Reprint: quarto; hardcover
with pictorial boards and illustrated endpapers; unpaginated (24pp.), with many
colour and monochrome illustrations. Minor wear; boards a little rubbed and
edgeworn; previous owner's ink inscription to the verso of the flyleaf. No
dustwrapper. Very good.
$100
(76259) Ivy L. Wallace, Pookie
puts the World Right, William Collins and Co. Ltd., London, 1955.
Reprint: quarto; hardcover
with pictorial boards and illustrated endpapers; unpaginated (24pp.), with many
colour and monochrome illustrations. Minor wear; boards a little rubbed and
edgeworn; previous owner's ink inscription to the verso of the flyleaf; some
light scattered foxing throughout. Dustwrapper is rubbed and edgeworn with
marks; chipping to the spine panel extremities and flap-turns; a few small
tears with associated creasing; some large chips to the lower panel with some
loss of text and images. Very good.
$100
*****
73244) Gladys Malvern (Dodo
Adler, illus.), The Dancing Star - The Story of Anna Pavlova, Seagull
Library/Wm. Collins Sons & Co. Ltd., London, 1960.
Reprint: octavo; hardcover,
with silver-gilt spine and upper board titles and decoration; 256pp., top edges
dyed blue, with a colour frontispiece and many monochrome illustrations. Mild
wear; spine extremities a little softened and corners lightly bumped; text
block and page edges toned and top edge dusted; offset to the endpapers and
preliminaries; previous owner’s pencilled inscription to the flyleaf.
Dustwrapper is a little rubbed and edgeworn; hinges lightly scraped, and spine
panel extremities chipped; now professionally protected by non-adhesive
polypropylene film.
Through the 50s into the 60s stories about ballerinas became mainstays in the marketing of books to girl readers: whereas boys had the traditional mainstays of nautical or Wild West adventure, publishers flailed around for an equivalent for their female readership. The lives of dancers, with the grind of discipline tinged with art and elusive romance, ultimately fit the bill. Given the headline-making antics of dancers like Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev at the time, it was also probably a smart investment!
$20
(68660) Amabel Williams-Ellis
(Pauline Diana Baynes, illus.), The Arabian Nights Stories Retold,
Blackie & Son Ltd., London, 1960.
Reprint: octavo; hardcover, full cloth with gilt spine titles and upper board decoration and illustrated endpapers; 348pp., with a colour frontispiece, 15 plates likewise and many other monochrome illustrations and decorations. Mild wear; a little shaken; boards lightly rubbed; text block edges toned, and top edge dusted; mild offset to the preliminaries. Dustwrapper is a little rubbed and edgeworn; chipping to the spine panel extremities; some small tears to the top edges of the upper and lower panels with associated creasing; now backed by archival-quality white paper and professionally protected by non-adhesive polypropylene wrap. Very good.
Eagle-eyed collectors will
have spotted the illustrator of this work at once: Pauline Baynes is best-known
for her work on C.S. Lewis’s Narnia series, and also for her
illustrations of some of Tolkien’s smaller books, such as Farmer Giles of
Ham and The Smith of Wootton Major.
$50
(75868) Madeleine L’Engle, A Wrinkle in Time, Thomas C. Lothian Pty. Ltd., Melbourne Vic., 1963.
First
UK edition: octavo; hardcover, with gilt spine titles; 182pp. Moderate wear;
slightly rolled; spine heel lightly softened; text block edges toned with some
spotting and top edge dusted; offset to the endpapers; retailer's ink stamp to
the front pastedown. Price-clipped dustwrapper is rubbed and edgeworn with some
minor marks and spotting; spine panel sunned; slight chipping to the spine
panel extremities with some small loss of text; a small tear along the upper
hinge from the top edge; now professionally protected by non-adhesive
polypropylene film. Very good.
A novel that was rejected 26
times before it was accepted by the American publishing house Farrar Straus
& Giroux and released in 1962. Comparable to the Narnia books of
C.S. Lewis, the book tackles grand themes of life, morality and spirituality in
a form palatable to its young adult audience, while simultaneously introducing
one of the first truly convincing female protagonists to the science fiction oeuvre.
This is the first Australian printing of the UK first edition.
$800
(75359) Audrey Furness, The
Forbidden Cave, The Children's Book Club, London, 1964.
Reprint: octavo; hardcover;
1623pp., with a monochrome frontispiece and other illustrations likewise, Mild
wear; slightly rolled; spine head lightly sunned; light spotting to the text
block edges. Dustwrapper is a little rubbed and edgeworn; lightly chipped at
the spine panel extremities and flap-turns; now professionally protected by
non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good.
Best known for her pseudo-Gothic tales of romance and treachery (a la The Ghost and Mrs. Muir), this is an uncommon diversion into children’s literature for Furness.
$40
(70215) Andre Norton, The X Factor
– A Science Fiction Novel, Victor Gollancz Ltd., London, 1968.
Second impression: octavo;
hardcover, with gilt spine titles; 191pp. Ex-library: moderate wear; the usual cancelled
library stamps and accoutrements; rolled; spine extremities softened; text
block edges toned; lower hinge cracked. price-clipped dustwrapper is edgeworn;
a hole and surface tears to the spine panel where library markers have been
removed; spine panel extremities lightly chipped; now professionally protected
by non-adhesive polypropylene wrap. Good.
An early work from Andre
Norton and an early entry in the list of Twentieth-Century Science Fiction
novels penned by women.
$50
(71767) Hans Christian Andersen (W. Heath Robinson, illus.), Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales, The Folio Society, London, 2000.
Reprint: royal octavo; hardcover, with gilt spine and upper board titles and decorations; 289pp., top edges dyed red, with a colour frontispiece and 15 plates likewise and many monochrome illustrations and decorations. Minor wear; spine lightly sunned. No dustwrapper as issued. Near fine in a lightly scuffed slipcase.
$65
*****
Children's Ephemera
(74739) Tamotsu Iwado (Takewo
Takei, illus.), Children's Days in Japan - Tourist Library: 12, Board of
Tourist Industry/Japanese Government Railways, Tokyo Japan, 1936.
Octavo; paperback, printed yapp covers with a tipped-on colour decoration to the front cover; 84pp. with a colour frontispiece, two plates likewise and many other monochrome illustrations and decorations. Moderate wear: ex-library; the usual library stamps; spine cracked (but strong); covers rubbed and edgeworn; text block edges toned; retailer's ink stamp to the first page. Very good.
$25
(76420) Unknown (G. Gilberti
(?), illus.), The Farmyard, Rose d'Oro Edizioni Conte/M. Confalonieri
S.p.A., Milano Italy, nd. (c.1940s).
Landscape quarto; paperback, stapled booklet, with illustrated stiff wrappers; 9pp., with many colour illustrations and a die-cut pop-up diorama between the middle pages. Moderate wear; covers rubbed and edgeworn and a little foxy; spine scraped; text block edges toned; some foxing throughout; previous owner's ink inscription to the inside front cover. Very good.
$45
(75730) Traditional (unknown, illus.), Curly Locks' Rhymes, Dean & Son Ltd., London, nd. (c.1950).
Quarto; paperback; unpaginated (18pp.), with many colour and duotone illustrations. Moderate wear. Good.
The redoubtable publishers Dean & Son
Ltd. brought us all manner of children’s books from Biggles to Blyton, along
with myriad other smaller, catchpenny productions such as this. The artist here
is uncredited but has strong vibes of both Heath Robinson and Mabel Lucie Atwell.
$15
(77537) Ann Verrent (David White, ed.), Capt. Tar and the Three Little Princesses - A Play With Me Book, Sampson Low Marston & Co., Ltd., London, nd. (c.1950s).
Quarto; spiral-bound hardcover, with illustrated boards and endpapers; unpaginated (9pp.), with many colour illustrations and die-cut pop-up mechanisms. Moderate wear; boards bowed, scuffed and edgeworn; softening to the spine extremities; text block edges toned; some light spotting to the preliminaries. No dustwrapper as issued. Very good.
$50
(75297) Paul Gallico, The Snow Goose, Michael Joseph Ltd., London, 1951.
First edition thus: octavo;
paperback, stapled booklet; 32pp., with monochrome decorations. Mild wear;
covers price-clipped and a little rubbed and edgeworn, with some scuffing and a
few marks; a surface tear to the front cover where a sticker has been removed;
text block edges toned; light scattered foxing throughout. Very good.
The Snow Goose has
rarely been out of print since its first release, and has been turned into a
stage play, a television show and a concept album, amongst other iterations.
While arguably not strictly a children’s tale, it has been marketed in that
direction as often as not. This is an early version – the work emerged in several
formats before crystallising into its final shape.
$25
(69809) Hans Christian Andersen (Vilhelm Pedersen, illus.), Six Fairy Tales by the Danish Writer Hans Christian Andersen, Published on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of his Birth, Det Berlingske Bogtrykkeri, Copenhagen Denmark, 1955.
Octavo; paperback,
perfect-bound with printed wrappers; 72pp. with a monochrome portrait
frontispiece and many illustrations likewise. Mild wear; covers rubbed and
edgeworn with some marks; text block edges lightly toned; previous owner's ink
inscription to the first page; some internal pen scribbles on pages 30-31. Very
good.
$25
(74006) Henry Longfellow (M.
Matthews, illus.), Hiawatha - Whitcombe's Story Books No. 338, Whitcombe
and Tombs Ltd., Auckland New Zealand, nd. (c.1956).
Octavo; paperback, stapled booklet with printed wrappers; 64pp., with a monochrome frontispiece and other illustrations likewise. Moderate wear; covers rubbed and edgeworn; text block edges toned; light scattered foxing throughout; some dog-eared pages; previous owner's pencilled inscription to the back cover. Very good.
$15
(77541) Charles Perrault (V. Kubasta, illus.), Sleeping Beauty, Artia/Bancroft & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., London, nd. (c.1961).
Landscape quarto; hardcover, quarter-bound in cloth and stab-sewn with pink cord; unpaginated (16pp.), with many colour illustrations and die-cut pop-up mechanisms; Moderate wear; covers a little rubbed and edgeworn; text block and page edges lightly toned with some mild spotting; some small tears to the pop-ups, now repaired using archival-quality materials. No dustwrapper as issued. Very good.
All pop-ups working, some repaired.
$100
Quarto; paperback, stapled booklet; 16pp. with many colour illustrations. Mild wear. covers a little rubbed and edgeworn. Very good.
$40
(77539) S. Marshak (trans.) (V. Lebedev, illus.), A Whiskered Little Frisker - Soviet Children's Library, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow USSR, nd. (c.1960).
Quarto; paperback, stapled booklet; 12pp., with colour illustrations. Mild wear; covers rubbed and edgeworn with some minor insect damage. Very good.
This item - and the previous one - are interesting because they were produced by Soviet publishing agencies during the Cold War as part of a concerted outreach to foreign populations. Australia, as a socialist-leaning country, was heavily targeted by such efforts, and these ephemeral items are a testament to the scope of the program.
$40
(72450) Gilbert P. Whitley
(Mary E. Soady, illus.), Solvol Fish Book - The Life and Habits of 80
Australian Fishes, Solvol, np., nd.
Landscape octavo; paperback, stapled booklet with illustrated wrappers; 32pp., with many colour illustrations. Mild wear; wrappers a little scuffed and rubbed with some minor marks and creasing. Very good.
A handy fisherperson's guide
produced by the famous soap manufacturer, detailing the habits and availability
of a plethora of Australian underwater wildlife. The smug child on the front
cover may well have been the inspiration for the product’s infamous mascot - “wash
your hands, Geoffrey; with the Solvol, Geoffrey!”
$50
(75667) Dylan Thomas (Ellen
Raskin, illus.), A Child's Christmas in Wales, J.M. Dent & Sons
Ltd., London, 1979.
Landscape duodecimo;
paperback, with printed wrappers; 32pp., with monochrome illustrations. Mild
wear; covers a little rubbed and edgeworn; previous owner's ink inscription to
the inside front cover; sticker ghost to the back cover. Very good.
$25
Star Wars!
1983 saw the release of what many would think of as the final Star Wars film – would that it was! As usual, a flurry of marketing opportunities were seized upon – tangled up by our country’s weird licensing legalities - and these offerings are the fruits of that process. Rare survivors all!
(74545) Dinah L. Moche (David Kawami, illus.), The Star Wars Question and Answer Book about Space - Commonwealth Edition, Scholastic Book Services/Scholastic Magazines Inc., New York NY, 1979.
Reprint: quarto; paperback, with illustrated wrappers; 62pp., with many full-colour illustrations. Mild wear; covers rubbed and edgeworn; an inked number to the front cover; text block edges toned. Very good.
$20
(74546) Barbara McCall
(Jacques Chazaud, illus.), Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – Mazes, Happy
House Books/Random House Inc., New York NY, 1983.
Quarto; paperback, stapled booklet with illustrated wrappers; 48pp., with many monochrome illustrations. Mild wear; covers rubbed and edgeworn; text block edges and pages tanned. Good.
$20
(74547) Susan
Nelson (illus.), Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - Coloring Book (85046-1),
Budget Books Pty. Ltd., Dingley Vic., 1983.
$20
(74548) Susan Nelson (illus.),
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - Coloring Book (85046-2), Budget Books
Pty. Ltd., Dingley Vic., 1983.
Quarto; paperback, stapled booklet with illustrated wrappers; 64pp., with many monochrome illustrations. Mild wear; covers rubbed and edgeworn with some light creasing; text block and page edges well toned. Good.
$20
*****
Hardcover Children’s Annuals:
These hardcover volumes, which collected a year's run of the newspapers which produced them, were a regular Christmas treat for children at the start of last century. These magazines were produced by missionary and other Christian or youth-focused organizations, keen to uphold the moral and spiritual tone of the younger generations. Although tinged with the prevailing attitudes of the day, they provide an exquisite window into the zeitgeist of the British Empire of the time. Pricing usually tends to reflect the condition of the individual volumes (which is generally poor) and finding a volume in its dustwrapper is a rare thing indeed!
(76265) Boy’s Own Paper
Annual, 1906 - $45
(76976) Chum’s Annual, 1906 - $60
(76264) Young England –
Twenty-Eighth Annual Volume, 1906-07 - $25
(76262) The Empire Annual for
Boys, c.1910 - $35
(76977) Boy’s Own Paper
Annual, 1915-16 - $40
(76263) Young England –
Thirty-Seventh Annual Volume, 1915-16 - $40
(68847) Blackie's Girls' Annual, c.1920s - $30
Morocco Books and Collectibles is located within the Country of the Dharug and Gundungurra peoples.
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