Journeys Through Bookland

A New and Original Plan for Reading Applied

to the World's Best Literature for Children

 

Charles H. Sylvester, Editor

 


    

 

 

Bellows-Reeve Company: Chicago. 1922.  New Edition (1st Ed. 1909). Ten volume hardcover set of children's stories. Royal blue boards, embossed design around set-in cover illustration, bright gold gilt on spine. Decorative endpapers, neat dedication on flyleaf. Abounding with color & black/white illustrations. Expected wear at corners & sides of binding. More wear to Volume 1 with discrete tear at tail of frontispiece; Volume 10 has small rip at top of spine. All ten volumes tight & vivid. VG to VG+.  $175

  

 

    
         
 

 

 

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Hector Malot

Nobody's Boy

Illustrated by Thelma Gooch

First Deluxe Edition

New York: Cupples & Leon Company. 1930. The deluxe edition of the first American edition of 1922. Translated & adapted by Florence Crewe Jones, with eight charming, richly rendered color illustrations by Thelma Gooch. A companion to the deluxe edition of Nobody's Girl, 1929. 9 ½" tall x 7 ⅛ " wide, 333 pages. Brown textured cloth cover with a large paste-down inset cover illustration of raggedy boy trodding the cobblestones of a village, his only companions three dogs & a monkey in a little red jacket who sits on his shoulder. Cover is very slightly worn with minor rubbing to the corners & gilt letters. Spine is clean with slightly faded gilt. Binding tight. Neat original owner's dedication opposite half-title page: To Albert Jr. from Mother, Xmas 1936. VG.

Published in France in 1878 as Sans Famille, this American "Deluxe Edition" of Hector Malot's most famous book was brought out in 1930. Hector Malot (1830-1907) was a prolific writer of children's stories who penned some of the great popular classics of French literature. His children's classics were stellar examples of the genre that extolled the ideal of the noble child who overcomes adversity through right-mindedness, honesty and loyalty, so popular with parents of every epoch & country. $85

      
         
         
 

Hector Malot

Nobody's Girl

Illustrated by Thelma Gooch
First Deluxe Edition

New York: Cupples & Leon Company, 1929.  The Deluxe Edition of the first American edition of 1922. A companion to the deluxe edition of Nobody's Boy, 1930. Translated & adapted by Florence Crewe Jones. Eight vibrant color illustrations by Thelma Gooch. 9 ½" tall x 7 ⅛ " wide. 318 pages. Red cloth binding with a subtle grain with an large inset paste-down cover illustration of a young, innocent-looking, slightly raggedy girl, cast out of a distant village & obviously alone in the world. Illustrated endpapers. Cover slightly worn with a bit of rubbing to the corners & a tiny corner tear. Raised gilt titles on the cover are bright. Spine has a few small spots & gilt a bit dulled. Hinge between dedication page & half-title page slightly loose with a small amount of what looks like glue stains. Neat original owner's dedication opposite of half-title page: "To Frances from Mother, Xmas 1936." VG+.

 

Nobody's Girl was published in France in 1893 as En Famille. It's author, Hector Malot (1830-1907) was a prolific writer of children's stories who penned some of the great popular classics of French literature. including his most famous book, Sans Famille (Nobody's Boy) 1878. Malot's children's classics were stellar examples of the genre that expounded the ideal of the noble child who overcomes adversity through right-mindedness, honesty and loyalty, so popular with parents of every epoch & country.  $70

 

    
         
         

 

Hector Malot

Ronnie (Romaine Calbris)

First American Edition

New York: Cupples & Leon Company, New York. 1937.  Hardcover. Blue cloth boards with color medallion of a boy pasted down & inset on cover. Four black & white illustrations by Thelma Gooch. Translated & adapted from the French by Florence Crewe-Jones. Sunning to the spine & minor exterior edge wear, rubbing & soiling. Original owner's name faded & in a childish script on inside of front cover. G+. Hector Malot (1830-1907) was a French writer of children's stories who penned some of the great popular classics of French literature. Ronnie is part a series that includes Malot's most famous book, Sans Famille (Nobody's Boy) 1878 and Nobody's Girl (En Famille) 1893. Les Adventures de Romain Kalbris was first published in France in 1869 & published in America as Ronnie in 1937. From the introduction: "Noble character, richly honest purpose and loyal endeavor shine through the pages of this book, brushing aside hardship and peril to mark Ronnie as a lively, inspiring boy who will long be remembered." $20

 

 

      
         
         
 

P. Alston Waring

The Peacock Country

Illustrations by Vera Bock

New York: John Day Company, Inc. An Asia Book. First Edition. 1948. Beige hardcover, 6x9 inches, pp: i-xi, 100 pages. This lovely book is in near fine condition, save a small bit rubbing on head & tail of backstrip.  No DJ. "Decorated" by Vera Bock with 21 fanciful pen & brush ink drawings of the animals of India & other Indian subjects. Replete with delicate ink designs on the pages & page borders. 

 

P. Alston Waring (1895-1978) was something of a back-to-the-land activist, a city boy turned small farmer who wrote books & articles about the early 20th century conservation. The stories in The Peacock Country were inspired by local tales he learned during a long sojourn in India, about "the lives of animals woven into the lives of people." $25