ANIMAL DREAMS. [ANON].: Awake or Dreaming? A dog's story written and illustrated by the brothers Wagtail.

London : Day & Son 1866.

4to, pp [8], 61, [3] with 4 mounted and colour tinted lithographed plates, numerous text wood engravings in including a pictorial title page, original pictorial green cloth, stamped in gilt and blind to upper board, spine plain, a corner crease t first few pages, but a very good copy,

FIRST EDITION; this is indeed a rare title, handsomely produced and illustrated in a superior manner. Sadly, the identity of the brothers Wagtail has never been established, or, at least, not in JISC, but some bird connotation is clearly intended. The stories are dedicated 'For out Children and God Children.' and the authorial side of the partnership pays tribute to a story entitled 'Puss and the Captain.' - a classic of animal storytelling by Julia Maitland. In this book, the theme is animal dreams, a subject which may be found quite engaging by those so disposed to it, with Benbow's autobiographical stories the raw material. £125.00 ref 31555

GENLIS, STEPHANIE, COMTESS DE. [TRANSLATED THOMAS HOLCROFT].: Tales of the Castle, or, Stories of Instruction and Delight. Being Les Veillees du Chateau...translated into English by Thomas Holcroft.

London, GG J and J Robinson, 1785.

5 volumes, 12mo, half titles present to all volumes, contemporary calf, spine gilt with red labels, black oval numbering pieces of which 2 are missing and one is chipped, spines a little rubbed and with a few small chips at spine ends as well one small abrasion, but generally a very good sound tight set in original state,

SECOND EDITION of Holcroft's translation of the De Genlis French original of 1784. A significant and influential collection of stories for children, moral in tone, extolling educational values as would befit a castle confined governess, which is exactly what De Genlis was.In his preface Thomas Holcroft makes no pretense of a faithful translation, though he speaks of the work as 'a book in which the powers of genius are ever ardent to inculcate the purest morality. He goes on to say, however, 'Of the present version...it was never intended to be anything like literal...the liberty of adding a thought is sometimes taken...' It would be interesting to know how much is De Genlis and how much Holcroft. With the early ownership to each volume of Anna Maria Catherine Springfield £250.00 ref 31541

HARRIS, JOHN. [Publisher].: Sam Syntax's Description of the Cries of London : as they are daily exhibited in the streets : with appropriate engravings.

London, John Harris, 1835.

12mo, frontispiece [depicting Harris's shop facing St Paul's] and 17 leaves printed on rectos only, comprising title page and 16 half page wood-engraved illustrations with verse texts beneath, hand-coloured throughout, bound [without wrappers, in contemporary half red calf, rubbed and repaired to lower joint, corners a little worn, repaired tear to one leaf without loss, a few light spots and stains but overall good and with bright colouring,

LAST EDITION OF THE HARRIS PRINTINGS. Moon 766 lists 5 issues from 1820 onwards, of which this is the last and dated 1835. It was thus the last Harris issue, subsequent printings being by his successors, and has come to be regarded as one of Harris’s most celebrated and attractive publications. £300.00 ref 31538

JACKSON, JOHN.: Rational Amusement for Winter Evenings, or, A collection of above 200 curious and interesting puzzles and paradoxes relating to arithmetic, geometry, geography, &c. : with their solutions, and four plates, designed chiefly for young persons

London, Longman etc / Bristol, Barry and Son, 1821.

12mo, pp [2], ii, 118, [2] pages, with 4 folding plates of diagrams at the rear, uncut in original two tone boards, paper label [this slightly chipped, a little rubbed, plates lightly foxed, a couple of minor marginal ink spots and one short clean tear, else a very good unsophisticated copy,

FIRST EDITION; a celebrated collection of 200 mathematical puzzles and riddles, prepared by a schoolmaster in Bristol, where the book was actually printed, though with a London imprint. The text includes a key for solutions, and doubtless proved entertaining to the curious Georgian child. Part of the never ending attempt to divert children from their natural inclination for vulgar entertainment towards the worthier pastimes of their elders. £275.00 ref 30933

VALENTINE AND ORSON.: The Renowned History of Valentine and Orson the two sons of the Emperor of Greece. Newly corrected and amended. Adorn'd with cuts

Glasgow : printed by John McCallum and sold by the booksellers, 1750.

12mo, pp [2],125,[15, comprising contents and final leaf advert for 'A New Academy of Compliments'], with 12 crude woodcut illustrations in the text, but without the frontispiece, bound in 19th Century polished calf, spine gilt with raised bands and red label, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, and with fine inner gilt dentils, lower board re-hung a few spots and stains and slightly browned, but internally sound and clean,

FIRST EDITION THUS, the illustrations necessarily copies, albeit crude ones, from th title's many earlier models. The French mediaeval romance achieved enormous popularity as cheap literature from the 16th Century onwards, the earlier printings in quarto format, the chapbook printings usually mere adumbrations, this Glasgow version something in between. As a defective copy, lacking its frontispiece, it was nevertheless thought worthy of a fine binding in the mid 19th Century - a time when completeness was not the only criteria for having a book in one's collection, even when completeness could be easily recognized. In this case, the rarity of McCallum's printing might preclude that; ESTC records only 2 copies, one in NLS, the other in New Zealand, both, we presume, with their frontispiece. So one might want to wait for a complete copy to come along...' £175.00

WALLIS [PUBLISHER]. LIBRARY FOR YOUTH. PILKINGTON, MARY [ATTRIB].: Rewards for Attentive studies; or, Stories Moral and Entertaining.

London : printed for J. Wallis By J. Cundee, 1800.

32mo, pp 62,[2], engraved frontispiece, bound in original pale blue boards with white printed label to upper board reading 'Moral Tales', rebacked [or as originally issued] in cream paper, and with later neat restoration to the spine, free endpapers a little frayed at edges [probably as bound], else clean and sound throughout,

FIRST EDITION; 'Rewards' was the logical final volume of a series of miniature educational texts issued by Wallis is 1800. By collecting, and by inference, reading the previous nine, this collection of eight short stories based around humanitarian themes could be considered a reward for 'attentive studies.' It is the only fictional part of the series, and commences with 'The Grateful Negro.' The complete set could be purchased in a special box entitled 'The Bookcase of Knowledge' but the individual volumes were issued separately and in multiple editions, and though anonymous in this rare first issue, later printings attribute the stories to Mary Pilkington. £200.00 ref 3156

[CHILD’S BOOK OF TRADES]. DARTON, WILLIAM [PUBLISHER].: The Book of Trades with Twenty-four Coloured Plates.

London, William Darton, circa 1830.

12mo, pp 12, title from upper wrapper, 12 plates each with 2 images making 24 all together, all hand-coloured, and illustrating different trades, sewn in original stiff cream printed wrappers, lightly soiled, a good copy,

FIRST EDITION, apparently the sole printing of this extremely rare book of trades; Darton was here in competition with other similar publications, including his own, although by pricing at one shilling his was probably the cheapest. The twenty four illustrations represent an interesting selection of professions from everyday commercial and working-class life of the Georgian period, including engraver, bookseller, auctioneer, watchmaker, tea dealer. The accompanying text is concise and in prose. In 1814 Harvey and Darton published a similar work called Little Jack of all Trades which is quite distinct from ours in any edition, with neither illustration nor text bearing any relation. It has been suggested that books of trades were in some way aspirational texts for boys, but the presence of the 'slop seller' [i.e. second hand clothes] in this selection rather suggests the opposite. £350.00 ref 30855

HACK, MARIA.: English Stories, Illustrating Some of the Most Interesting Events and Characters, Between Alfred and the Death of John. WITH: English Stories, Second Series: Illustrating... the Accession of Henry the Third, and the Death of Henry the Sixth

London, Darton, Harvey and Darton, 1820.

2 volumes, 12mo, pp xiv, 400: xiv, 391, [errata], with engraved frontispiece to each work, bound in contemporary calf, neatly rebacked, spines with raised bands and olive labels, foxing and offsetting to frontispieces else sound copies,

FIRST EDITIONS, as separate works, Maria Hack, having received favourable attention for a volume of Grecian stories sought to retell her own English story in question and answer form according to her own rather narrow moral outlook. Her efforts turned out to be quite successful and five years later she added a continuation describing the rather more contentious period of the dissolution of the monasteries and its aftermath. With that she finished her efforts, the story never brought up to date. £75.00 ref 30737

HULBERT, CHARLES.: Museum Americanum; or Select Antiquities, Curiosities, Beauties, and Varieties of Nature and Art, in America, compiled from Eminent Authorities...interspersed with original hints, observations etc.

London, Whittaker [and others] [Shrewsbury, printed C. Hulbert], 1823.

12mo, pp [2, adverts], 346, with Hulbert's 8 page catalogue of publications inserted at the front, engraved frontispiece and a plate depicting American antiquities , uncut in original printed boards with vignette, rubbed and chipped at head of spine with minor staining, internally sound and clean throughout,

FIRST EDITION. LONDON ISSUE, also issued as third part of four of Hulbert's Select Antiquities. historical records of the continents, published as a separate work. It is an author printed publication for use in schools, and reviewers of the first part - Museum Asianum - had praise for such a decent piece of printing coming out of Shrewsbury. The author-printer was also a local cotton manufacturer, and issued many similar educational works as his eight page catalogue at the front indicates. All of his publications are scarce in original boards. £75.00 ref 30713

RIDDLES. 'BY AN OLD FRIEND.': Mince Pies for Christmas: Consisting of Riddles, Charades, Rebuses, Transpositions and Queries; Intended to gratify the Mental Taste, and to exercise the Ingenuity of all Sensible Masters and Misses. By an Old friend.

London, Tabart, 1805.

16mo, pp vi, 189, [3, adverts], engraved frontispiece [dated Dec 25th 1804], original red roan backed marbled boards, short crack to upper joint, rubbed and a little worn at corners, front free endpaper removed, minor soiling and spotting only, a sound tight copy,

FIRST EDITION. See Osborne, Vol 1, p223 [same edition] for an interesting description of this rare early riddle title, mentioning an early review in which Mrs Trimmer took exception to the lighthearted nature of books which 'profane the Scriptures' and 'treat majesty with indignity.' £120.00 ref 30701