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16 BUSCH, Wilhelm. Max und Moritz: eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen. Munich: Braun und Schneider, [1865] The prototype of the comic strip Rare first edition, first impression, of the book widely regarded as the prototype of the children’s comic. The first printing was 4,000 copies, but the nature of the book and the juvenile readership led to a very high attrition rate. This is a remarkably well-preserved copy. After Struwwelpeter , Max und Moritz is the best-known German children’s book. Busch’s style, his lively line drawings captioned with rhyming couplets, is generally recognized as the precursor of modern comic strips, particularly influential on German émigrés to America like Rudolph Dirks, whose Katzenjammer Kids is a close imitation of Max und Moritz . Busch pioneered several elements which have become staples of the medium, such as onomatopoeia and expressive movement lines. This copy has the key error “geschroben” for “geschroten” on leaf 52 and Vanselow’s other points: leaf 17 with a full stop after the last word; line 1, leaf 31, slightly indented; leaf 51 with a point and dash after “Bösewichter”; and 7 dashes on the left of the text on leaf 53. The illustrations are first state, strong woodcut impressions on white paper with light colouring as per the artist’s instructions. Only the first four printings have illustrations printed from the original woodblocks by Dr C. Wolf & Sohn; later printings are illustrated by electrotypes. Outside Germany the first edition is notably rare: there is a single copy in North America at the Houghton Library, Harvard, while Library Hub locates only one copy in the United Kingdom and Ireland, that at the Taylor Institution Library, Oxford. Octavo (205 × 132 mm), ff. [2], 53; printed on rectos only. Contemporary dark brown sheep-backed brown patterned-paper covered boards, manuscript titles in dark brown ink on yellow spine
15 BURNETT, Frances Hodgson. Little Lord Fauntleroy.
pastedown. Extremities worn, rubbed in place, but the binding firm, small reinforcement to lower inner corner of title verso and “Vorwort” recto, last leaf seemingly reattached, superficial abrasion to leaf 17 with slight loss of image, occasional small edge-splits to lower margins, lightly finger-soiled, occasional spotting, else a remarkably well-preserved and wide-margined copy. ¶ Vanselow 28 (wrongly counting the number of prints as 99); not in Grolier. Susan Reed, “Two bad boys, seven pranks and one children’s classic”, 2015, article online. £45,000 [138250] 17 CARLE, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. New York and Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1969 Signed by the artist First edition, first printing, signed by the author on the front free endpaper verso, of Carle’s children’s classic, with the rare dust jacket. First edition copies are notably scarce on the market, and signed copies of this important staple of 20th- century children’s literature are exceedingly rare. The jacket is the first issue with “The World Publishing Company New York and Cleveland” at the bottom of both flaps and A3450 on the rear panel. Since its publication, The Very Hungry Caterpillar has enchanted generations of children across the world. With sales of more than 30 million copies worldwide, and at least 40 different translations, Eric Carle’s story of metamorphosis has become one of the best-loved and best-selling children’s books of all time, regularly featuring in polls and charts of favourite books. Oblong octavo. Original glazed pictorial boards, spine and front board lettered in black, pictorial endpapers. With dust jacket. Illustrated throughout. A superb copy, clean and bright, in a lovely example of the jacket, price-clipped, mildly toned at edges, else notably sharp and fresh. ¶ Grolier, Children’s 100 , 99. £15,000 [150943]
label, blue speckled edges. Housed in a black quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery. With 98 lightly hand-coloured woodcut illustrations in the text by the author (the illustration on leaf 45 signed in the block, “WBusch 65”), xylographic title. Neat contemporary ink ownership inscription of Bruno Lange on front
New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1886 With manuscript material
First edition, first issue, with an autograph letter signed by the author tipped-in to the first blank, responding to a question about the real-life inspiration for the characters of Cedric Errol (young Lord Fauntleroy), and Sara Crewe (later dramatized as A Little Princess ). In the letter dated 12 February 1897, Burnett writes: “Sara Crewe was a very real little girl indeed and that though she has grown up to be a woman she still always tries to be a Princess and remember ‘the Populace’. Cedric was real too and though his golden locks were cast-off years ago he is a dear fellow . . . and has, I think as many friends today as he had when he wore a lace collar and a sash”. In Little Lord Fauntleroy , Burnett described Cedric’s appearance: “What the Earl saw was a graceful, childish figure in a black velvet suit, with a lace collar, and with lovelocks waving about the handsome, manly little face, whose eyes met his with a look of innocent good-fellowship”. Little Lord Fauntleroy was Burnett’s first children’s novel. It made her a household name on both sides of the Atlantic and popularised elaborately trimmed velvet page-boy suits. A Little Princess was first published under the title “Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin’s” in St. Nicholas Magazine , December 1887, and in book form the following year. Quarto. Original brown cloth, spine and cover decorated in black, red, and gold, brown coated endpapers. Engraved frontispiece and 11 plates, vignettes throughout. Spine cocked, ends a little frayed, corners slightly worn, minor toning to contents, free from marks, inner hinges sound. A very good copy in bright cloth. ¶ BAL 2064. £2,500 [144824]
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All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
CHILDREN’S BOOKS & ORIGINAL ARTWORK
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