About Antique and Vintage Childrens Books

It wasn’t until the 18th century that books were written specifically for children. Before that, children read books intended for adults, such as Aesop’s Fables, Gulliver’s Travels, and The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.

Children’s books grew popular in London in the mid-1700s, and included moral stories, religious hymns, didactic literature, and poetry. As children’s books boomed, their variety expanded: from alphabet books to pop-ups and movables to fantasy, adventure, and history...

Although fairytales gained popularity with Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, they were considered inappropriate for children through most of the 19th century. Instead, children’s stories tended to focus on a moral, reminding children to behave. They often had a strong Christian message, as parents wanted to ensure that their children would be “saved” if they died young.

Early children’s books mostly lacked pictures, with the exception of occasional black and white woodcuts. In the mid-1800s, printing technology improved, and bold, colorful imagery gradually became as important as the text. Many children’s books had different illustrators for each printing run.

Three of the most notable children’s book artists in England at this time were Kate Greenaway, Randolph Caldecott, and Walter Crane. They created the illustrations for toy books, which featured full-page illustrations and were larger than regular books.

Popular children's stories have tended to evolve over time – for example, there are multiple versions of well-known stories such as Cinderella. Some notable (and collectible) children’s book authors include Lewis Carroll, A. A. Milne, Frank Baum, Hannah More, John Harris, Juliana Horatia Ewing, Edward Lear, Beatrix Potter, and William Darton.

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Interviews & Articles

An Interview With Children’s Book Curator Rita Smith

I started working as the curator of the Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature in 1994, but I’d worked… [more]

An Interview with Rare Book Collector and Appraiser Ken Sanders

I don’t remember a time when I didn’t read books. In grade school, I devoured library books. I also loved comic boo… [more]

An Interview on First Editions with Vintage Book Appraiser Matthew Haley

Strictly speaking, a book’s edition refers to the setting of the text. So the first time you set the text and print… [more]

An Interview With American Cookbook Expert and Rare Book Curator Peter Berg

Special collections is where we keep non-circulating rare materials which have to be used in the reading room. Our … [more]



Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves

Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves

This great blog, by an anonymous mom in Texas, is an ongoing bibliography of hundreds of vintage childrens books, c… [read review or visit site]

Baldwin Library of Childrens Literature

Baldwin Library of Childrens Literature

If you’re interested in collectible childrens books, check out this special digital collection from the Universit… [read review or visit site]

Google Book Search

Google Book Search

Want to do one quick search and pull up the mother lode of vintage books? Try Google Book Search, a database filled… [read review or visit site]

Feeding America

Feeding America

This archive of 76 influential American cookbooks from the late 1700s to early 1900s, assembled by the Michigan St… [read review or visit site]

Gallery of Book Trade Labels

Gallery of Book Trade Labels

Greg Kindall's collection of over 2100 colorful and historic book labels, pasted into books by publishers, printers… [read review or visit site]

Vintage Cookbooks Photo Pool

Vintage Cookbooks Photo Pool

This Flickr photo pool features over 2,000 photos and scans of vintage cookbooks and old recipes from the 1940s to … [read review or visit site]

Rare Karate Book Collection

Rare Karate Book Collection

This visually interesting and highly specialized collection from the Hawaii Karate Museum focuses on rare and histo… [read review or visit site]

Czech Book Covers

Czech Book Covers

This Smithsonian microsite showcases Czech avant-garde book cover designs from the 1920s and 30s, complete with hig… [read review or visit site]

Bookscans.com

Bookscans.com

Bruce Black's gallery of paperback book covers from the 1940s and 50s. With help from numerous contributors, he's a… [read review or visit site]


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Clubs & Associations: Books


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Mint The Pop Up Pinocchio Book - By Harold Lentz - Nr$355.00 Ends Tuesday 10 bids 9 watchers
A.a. Milne Signed Rare Uk 1st House Pooh Corner 1928$303.00 Ends Tuesday 7 bids 42 watchers
American Artists Edition "mark Twain"$250.00 Ends Thursday 1 bid 1 watcher
Shepard Signed Rare Uk Ltd Winnie The Pooh A. A. Milne$203.50 Ends in 39 mins 8 bids 22 watchers
Mark Twain's Works Faux Leather Fine Binding Set 24 Vol$202.50 Ends Saturday 32 bids 9 watchers
Volumes 1-40 Hardy Boys Books Dj$170.48 Ends in 22 hours 15 bids 8 watchers
Arthur Rackham Extremely Rare 1st Ed Peter Pan 1906$160.67 Ends Thursday 12 bids 134 watchers
Jrr Tolkien Lord Of The Rings (5) Vol. Set Easton Press$152.76 Ends Tuesday 14 bids 25 watchers
A Tramp Abroad By Mark Twain, Signed $150.00 Ends in 2 hours 1 bid 14 watchers
Rare 1902 J.m. Barrie Peter Pan The Little White Bird$127.50 Ends in 1 hour 19 bids 28 watchers
Nancy Drew Complete Set Matte Vintage Books 1-56 1st Ed$127.50 Ends in 0 mins 8 bids 33 watchers
1911 Peter Pan & Wendy First Edition J.m. Barrie 1st Ed$127.50 Ends Saturday 10 bids 23 watchers
Rare Arts & Crafts Aesop's Fables Charles Robinson 1895$117.50 Ends in 21 hours 11 bids 15 watchers
The Hardy Boys Antique Books Lot 25 W/ Dust Jackets Djs$113.62 Ends in 3 mins 28 bids 22 watchers
Tolkien Lord Of The Rings Hobbit Folio Society Sealed $103.50 Ends in 1 hour 2 bids 13 watchers
Wizard Of Oz 14 Books Set Baum White Cover Near Mint $102.51 Ends in 44 mins 22 bids 33 watchers
Ww Denslow's Mother Goose 1901 You've Gotta See This!!$102.50 Ends Thursday 2 bids 6 watchers
Hardy Boys Books (complete Set + Detective Handbook)$102.50 Ends in 2 hours 20 bids 26 watchers
Rare In Dj! 1st 1947 Uncle Remus Stories Disney Golden$100.00 Ends Tuesday 1 bid 5 watchers
Aran Knitting By Alice Starmore (1997, Hardcover)$78.55 Ends in 2 hours 11 bids 40 watchers
Alice In Wonderland Lewis Carroll Mad Hatter Child Rare$76.00 Ends Tuesday 14 bids 24 watchers
Walt Disney's Seven Dwarfs Sparkle Colour Book 1955$75.69 Ends Wednesday 12 bids 9 watchers
The Giant Horse Of Oz Early Print 1st Ed Color Pl Good+$75.00 Ends Saturday 2 bids 1 watcher
Alice In Wonderland Lewis Carroll Tenniel Color Plates$75.00 Ends in 21 hours 2 bids 6 watchers
Huge Lot 86 Childrens-picture Bks-caldecott-ar-new!!!$71.00 Ends in 22 hours 3 bids 3 watchers
Rare Old Kids Song Book. Australian Children Songs.$68.72 Ends Thursday 1 bid 2 watchers
1895 Alice In Wonderland And Through The Looking Glass$68.00 Ends Tuesday 8 bids 10 watchers
Walt Disney's Lady Sparkle Colour Book 1955$66.00 Ends Wednesday 6 bids 5 watchers
Walt Disney's Goofy Sparkle Colour Book 1955$66.00 Ends Wednesday 5 bids 4 watchers
Left Behind The Kids Series Lot Of 39 (missing #21)$62.01 Ends in 2 hours 5 bids 15 watchers
1910 Alice In Wonderland, Mabel Lucie Attwell, First Ed$61.00 Ends in 3 mins 10 bids 31 watchers
Fables Covers 1 By Bill Willingham, James Jean (2008...$60.99 Ends in 23 hours 5 bids 16 watchers
1977 Easton Press Full Red Leather Alice In Wonderland$60.06 Ends in 9 hours 5 bids 6 watchers
Lewis Carroll Alice's Adventures In Wonderland 1872$57.06 Ends Sunday 4 bids 39 watchers
J.r.r. Tolkien Atlas Of Middle Earth Easton Press$56.94 Ends Tuesday 3 bids 28 watchers
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland Lewis Carroll Alice$56.76 Ends Friday 12 bids 24 watchers
Billion Dollar Baby Alice Cooper Bio Pb 1974 Oop$53.50 Ends in 18 hours 13 bids 11 watchers
Alice In Wonderland Lewis Carroll Child Fairytale Rare$53.00 Ends Saturday 13 bids 31 watchers
The American Claimant, Mark Twain, 1st Edit, 1892$52.89 Ends in 2 hours 4 bids 5 watchers
1934 Bookano No1 Pop-up Toy Book Childrens Fairy Tales $52.56 Ends in 10 hours 1 bid 11 watchers
Alice's Adventures Under Ground-alice In Wonderland$51.00 Ends Thursday 9 bids 6 watchers
Mark Twain - Complete Works - 25 Vols 1910 -$51.00 Ends Thursday 4 bids 14 watchers
Antique 1st Ed Winnie The Pooh A A Milne 1926 Toy Bear$50.00 Ends Tuesday 8 bids 20 watchers
9 Leather Bound Books Shakespeare Mark Twain Lot Nice!$50.00 Ends in 36 mins 11 bids 9 watchers
Huge Lot 100+ Childrens-picture Bks-caldecott-ar-new!!!$49.99 Ends Wednesday 2 bids 1 watcher
Alice Cooper 1974 Full Magazine Live Photos$49.99 Ends Tuesday 1 bid 5 watchers
Hammond: J.r.r. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography$49.95 Ends in 13 hours 1 bid 2 watchers
19th Century Aesop's Fables Book - Excellent Condition!$49.00 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 1 watcher
Alice In Bibleland Complete Set Of 28 Books Davidson$46.00 Ends in 13 hours 17 bids 17 watchers
Bookland Alice's Adventures In Wonderland Fairy Tales ~$44.00 Ends Monday 13 bids 21 watchers
Tolkien, Easton Press, The Fellowship Of The Ring!!$43.00 Ends in 1 hour 11 bids 19 watchers
Easton Press Return Of The King Jrr Tolkien Sealed$43.00 Ends in 1 hour 10 bids 14 watchers

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