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Collectible Childrens Books on eBay

As per cc's suggestion, a thread for relatively higher dollar children's books sold on eBay and the ensuing discussions.
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Collectible Childrens Books on eBay

$577 for the following:

Beautiful DR SEUSS 1st HC/DJ Ten Apples up on Top 1961
Theo LeSieg TRUE 1st state per Younger & Hirsch 195/195
Item number: 280216208978 ended April 17, 2008

TEN APPLES UP ON TOP! by Theo. LeSieg
illustrated by Roy McKie

Beginner Books, 1961. First Edition. First State with all matching issue points. Near Fine unread hardcover in a Near Fine jacket. 47 years of shelf life but NO signs of use. An amazing specimen of a book with only nominal shelf wear and some yellow offsetting on the endpapers from the dustjacket, and a very tight & clean binding. This is from the same stable of Seuss books as the 1st state copy of Green Eggs and Ham I sold for a near record price 2 years ago right here on eBay.

This copy of Ten Apples is first state all the way, matching all the issue points pertaining to both the book and dustjacket in the Younger & Hirsch bibliography. The second photo shows the lack of logo on the book, the fourth photograph clearly shows the dustjacket flap price of $1.95 (195/195), and the rear cover photos show the crucial other titles listings. The posted photographs should answer all your questions. Of the three first editions on the market this is the best collector's copy by far, far better than the $900 copy on abebooks, and offered here with NO RESERVE. A great opportunity to catch an elusive Seuss first edition.

Theodor Seuss Geisel used the pen name Theo. LeSieg (Geisel spelled backwards) for books he wrote but others illustrated.
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Collectible Childrens Books on eBay

$700, at least the seller corrected the original listing:

THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT by BEATRIX POTTER 1st Ed. 1902
Item number: 120246389833 ended April 19, 2008

This is a first edition of Beatrix Potter " The Tale of Peter Rabbit " F. Warne & Co. 1902 print. The book measures 4 1/8" W x 5 5/8" H x 1/2" thick. The book is held together by the existing mess binding. The title on the edge of the book can be reapplied by a pro... There are some pages missing namely : 12-13,16-17,18-19, 24-25, 30-31 ,36-37,42-43, 48-49, 54-55, 60-61, 66-67, 72-73. Thanks!

On Apr-15-08 at 17:19:38 PDT, seller added the following information:

I have discovered that apparently the publisher made this book with blank pages in between the story pages. The story is complete, NO PAGES ARE MISSING.!!!!!!!!! My apology....
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Collectible Childrens Books on eBay

Thank you, zlinda, I wasn't familiar with that LeSieg title.
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Collectible Childrens Books on eBay

$800:

CECIL ALDIN FARM BOOK/DEAN'S RAG BOOK

Ended: Feb-07-08

Terrible description, near fine condition.

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Collectible Childrens Books on eBay

cornercube
Trailblazer
gismas
Since this is an old auction, it is not accessible except for eBay's most cash-extortionate forms of completed auction search. If you have an auction number, post it. If you have more particulars, post them also.


"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn."
— Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, 1755


Google and Wikipedia are not substitutes for education or intelligence.
— cornercube, 2009

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Collectible Childrens Books on eBay

cornercube
Trailblazer
zlinda
Thanks for educational your efforts.


"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn."
— Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, 1755


Google and Wikipedia are not substitutes for education or intelligence.
— cornercube, 2009

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Collectible Childrens Books on eBay

You're welcome cc. I'll grab some of the previous posts and put them on this thread.

McCloskey's 2nd Caldecott Medal winning book sold for $634 on March 24, 2008, to go along with his three Caldecott Honor books. We are not such purists that we would call this a '2nd state DJ' simply due to the applied stickers. In many cases, the stickers were sent to stores and applied post-publication, therefore a 'first issue dust jacket with Caldecott Medal stickers applied.' Thoughts?

From the item description:

Robert McCloskey_TIME OF WONDER_1957_1st/dj_SIGNED_WOW
Winner 1958 Caldecott Medal NF/NF lovely!
Item number: 200208715343 Sold on March 24, 2008, for $634

"TIME OF WONDER by Robert McCloskey

Viking, New York. 1957. 4to in blue cloth binding with pressed cover decorations and silver-gilt spine titles, interior color illos by author throughout. Correct first edition, first printing in second-state dustjacket.

The book is Near Fine with just tracewear to the board edges. The jacket is likewise Near Fine or better, no specific flaws noted. This Caldecott-winning book is SIGNED on the title page by the author at the bottom of the title-page illo. The jacket has the two Caldecott medallions on the front panel, the only difference from the first-state jacket, which does not have the award medallions.

See the photos. NOT price-clipped, NOT ex-library, as lovely a copy of this multiple-Caldecott winning author's final award-winner as I have ever seen, in an archival-quality jacket protecter. This book was obtained directly from the estate of a children's librarian who was a Newbery/Caldecott Award judge. VERY scarce in this exceptional collector's condition, even more so signed."
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Collectible Childrens Books on eBay

An important point of minutiae overlooked by the buyer of auction #300206904017:

"Wept big tears" was changed to "shed big tears" in the 4th printing of The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?messageID=2009770324&forumID=4&x#2009770324
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Collectible Childrens Books on eBay

yankeeancestry (2536 ) View Listings | Report Mar-26-08 11:03 PDT 1 of 17
Now, if it was Blueberries for Sal, that would have been something.

I always thought this book was nice enough, and having experienced some of those better Maine coast days [as opposed to being fogged in for a solid week], it was evocative for me reading/telling it to my daughter. But his less detailed art work, after Sal, just didn't seem all that noteworthy.

Was this like a Hollywood make-up award for something?

re other artist: How "big", if at all, is Robert Lawson these days?

zlinda (1707 ) View Listings | Report Mar-26-08 11:37 PDT 2 of 17
I don't think this was a make-up award. 1957 was an era of prescribed readers (think Dick & Jane, et. at.), and also some unrest from John Hersey's "Why Johnny Can't Read' article in Life Mag, I'm sure the noise reverberating through the ears of elementary school educators everywhere.

In this environment, in 1957 two landmark early readers were published, The Cat In The Hat and Little Bear, books outside of the prescribed learn-to-read curriculum. That these two were ignored for Caldecott mention by the selection body of librarians, and a more conservative book selected, is understandable given the context.

The Cat In The Hat in particular did not strike the fancy of the teaching public for many, many years (due in part to the authority bending Cat), while Little Bear's Visit deservedly winning a Caldecott Honor in 1962 could be some make-up for Little Bear's omission.

zlinda (1707 ) View Listings | Report Mar-26-08 11:48 PDT 3 of 17
How "big", if at all, is Robert Lawson these days?

Quite. Lawson won both a Caldecott Medal for his illustrations, and a Newbery Medal for his writing, along with Honor awards in both categories.

In the contemporary children's book space, the two 'A+' collectibles are Sendak and Seuss. Just below the top two, is the 'A' tier, including Crockett Johnson, H.A. Rey, Chris Van Allsburg, and so forth. Lawson & McCloskey would be just below that 2nd tier, and only because their works have not crossed over into pop culture quite as much as the creations of the above.

zlinda (1707 ) View Listings | Report Mar-26-08 11:56 PDT 4 of 17
yankeeancestry: You might find this list of most valuable children's book illustrators useful. Stan compiled the list from our database. Please consider it directionally accurate.
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Collectible Childrens Books on eBay

A first edition Cat In The Hat hasn't sold for this high an amount ($3450) on eBay in quite some time. Why so high? Condition, condition, condition!

1st Edition First Printing Dr Seuss Cat In The Hat Rare
Item number: 180213027043 sold on Feb. 10, 2008 for $3450

"First edition, first printing of "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss, aka Theodore Geisel. New York: Random House: 1957. Includes all first edition points; matte hardcover boards with single binding "signature" in dustjacket that includes the "200/200" price on front flap, and without the "Printed in U.S.A. attribution on rear panel.

The 61pp. octavo book features Seuss at his best, in his most renowned and re-read children’s book classic: "We looked! Then we saw him step in on the mat! We looked! And we saw him! The Cat in the Hat!"

Small tears to front joint at top and bottom. Minor soiling to edges and front board and previous owner's signature ("katy taylor") on front pastedown and endpaper. Dustjacket and book in excellent condition, rarely found so unblemished. A scarce first printing of a children's literature treasure."
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Collectible Childrens Books on eBay

The Golden Book of Biology and other Charles Harper illustrated Golden Books from the 1960's consistently sell for nice bucks on eBay. In this instance, over $700. The Harper illustrations are easily identifiable. From the item description:

CHARLES/CHARLEY HARPER GIANT GOLDEN BOOK OF BIOLOGY 60s
HTF 1st ED. 1961- IN GREAT SHAPE- HUGE - FILLED W PICS

Item number: 300200460661 sold for $765 on Feb. 26. 2008

"THE GIANT GOLDEN BOOK OF BIOLOGY an introduction to the science of life
Illustrations by Charles (Charley) Harper - Text by Gerald Ames and Rose Wyler

1st edition c1961 99 pages golden press - Oversized hardcover children's book
LARGE FORMAT hardcover, 10.5” X 13”
FULL COLOR! Filled with many of Charley's well known illustrations.

“Charley Harper (August 4, 1922 - June 10, 2007) was a Cincinnati-based American Modernist artist. He was best known for his highly stylized wildlife prints, posters and book illustrations."-wikipedia

On top of all this its a cool science book for children.

condition- The book is in Excellent shape, especially considering its age. Cover is in great shape, still glossy after all these years. The thick cloth covered board cover has held very well Internally it is extremely clean and bright. Pages and pictures clean and crisp no notes or doodles. This is one of the nicest copies I've seen."
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Collectible Childrens Books on eBay

cmybooksinc (830 ) View Listings | Report Mar-03-08 12:35 PST 1 of 8
there was a great piece on cbs sunday morning show a few weeks back about him and another artist designer

blue*skies*ahead* (1201 ) View Listings | Report Mar-03-08 12:36 PST 2 of 8
I wonder how many of those I have walked right by.

yankeeancestry (2536 ) View Listings | Report Mar-03-08 14:02 PST 3 of 8
I've NEVER even seen these, but shall never walk past one! Charles Harper is now permanently etched in the retrievable areas of memory.

lludwig (10422 ) View Listings | Report Mar-03-08 16:02 PST 4 of 8
zlinda - Thanks for mentioning this book. It is one that I had encounted before and thought it is a Classic of the times and would be an excellent one to print in same format and put into school classrooms and libraries.

tealsky (353 ) View Listings | Report Mar-03-08 16:46 PST 5 of 8
I sold one a few weeks ago, Item number: 160204577530. Ex-library book that I thought I might get $100 for. Sold for $406.00!

cmybooksinc (830 ) View Listings | Report Mar-03-08 17:19 PST 6 of 8
also he did some ford times i believe

cmybooksinc (830 ) View Listings | Report Mar-03-08 17:21 PST 7 of 8
yep he did I checked ebay

zlinda (1707 ) View Listings | Report Mar-09-08 18:17 PDT 8 of 8
Another sold for $535 this week, with library stamp. From the item description:

Charles Harper Golden Book Biology 1961 Signed
Item number: 120228215668 sold for $535 on March 7, 2008

"The Giant Golden Book of Biology
By Gerald Ames and Rose Wyler
Illustrated by Charles Harper
1961 Golden Press
99 pages

History: I am a huge Charles Harper fan and this book is part of my collection. I have become friends with Brett Harper (his son) and gave him this book to be signed while Charley was in the hospital. In fact, all the books I’m putting up for sale on Ebay were signed in early 2007. These books are very special to me and I know I’m going to regret selling them.

About The Book: This is a great, hard-to-find book (well, at least hard-to-find cheaply) known for its illustrations and its rarity. This is the book Todd Oldham references for inspiration. He stated in an interview that he’s owned it since he was a kid. This is the book that “made” Charley and really demonstrates a fully matured sense of style. If you study his Ford Times artwork through the fifties, you will witness an evolution of style and color. This book displays, to a wider audience, the depth and sophistication of a professional. This is the Holy Grail to many Harper collectors. If you look closely there are two self-portraits of the artist. The man with the red shirt holding the anaconda and the center photo of the “Why You Are You” article are both Charley. Some of the original artwork behind the illustrations for the Golden Book of Biology and Animal Kingdom was put up for sale recently in Cincinnati.

Biography: Charles Harper has been placed in the spotlight lately because of Todd Oldham’s biography of his work. It’s refreshing to know that many new people are just now discovering his art. Most of the people of Cincinnati have already been exposed to his talents. He did posters for the Hamilton County Parks and worked with the Cincinnati Zoo. He has done a mural at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. His work has also been featured in local exhibitions and he spoke at several schools. He attended and then later taught at the Art Academy of Cincinnati."
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Collectible Childrens Books on eBay

Robert McCloskey JOURNEY CAKE HO! 1953 TRUE 1st w/DJ
Very scarce!! No copies anywhere!!
Item number: 190204544158 sold for $2045 on Mar. 16, 2008

zlinda (1707 ) View Listings | Report Mar-16-08 20:50 PDT
Very tough to find, only the second first edition I've seen. From the item description:

"TRUE 1st Edition of the classic JOURNEY CAKE, HO! by Ruth Sawyer and Robert McCloskey in Dust Jacket!!

1954 Caldecott Honor book!! Extremely scarce, especially in this condition!!

New York -THE VIKING PRESS 1953

TRUE First Edition, First Printing, First Issue with correct price, copyright information, etc.

Very Scarce, almost never seen for sale, Almost all copies available are Book Club Editions, it is hard to even find a later printing with a dust jacket. If you have been waiting for the best possible example of this scarce First Edition, this is it. You will probably never find a nicer copy!! Near perfect!!

Unpaginated. Octavo (10 1/2" x 8")

Condition: Near Fine in Near Fine Dust Jacket"


jakoll (1065 ) View Listings | Report Mar-16-08 20:59 PDT 1 of 8
Wow.....nice book.....never seen one.

yankeeancestry (2536 ) View Listings | Report Mar-17-08 06:28 PDT 2 of 8
Well, at least I can say that I ACTUALLY held a copy of this book in my hands--albiet a then current library book, with usual material, as opposed to ex-library, as it was from my elementary school library! And yes I read it too.

yankeeancestry (2536 ) View Listings | Report Mar-17-08 06:37 PDT 3 of 8

Is advanced search for seller currently BROKEN? I clicked on this seller's other listings, found nothing for sale, so then tried using advance -- seller search and got not a valid eBay idea. I even used the approximate search function of "close matches" and got a no-no message.

Can't anybody here operate a functional business system?

blue*skies*ahead* (1201 ) View Listings | Report Mar-17-08 06:42 PDT 4 of 8
? Yankee?
That seller doesn't have any current listings, but has a page full of completed auctions that ended yesterday.

yankeeancestry (2536 ) View Listings | Report Mar-17-08 06:42 PDT 5 of 8
OK - it finally worked.

Seller had an impressive week with Dr Seuss books also,

http://tinyurl.com/3al4sd

hummingbirdcolumbine6 (1254 ) View Listings | Report Mar-17-08 06:42 PDT 6 of 8
Thanks, zlinda, I've never seen one.

yankeeancestry (2536 ) View Listings | Report Mar-17-08 06:44 PDT 7 of 8
The Margaret Wise Brown book (also one I've never heard of) beat the McCloskey book.

Tip of the Day: ALWAYS put McCloskey's name first inthe title line. It took my humdrum 1941 folklore book to a sale in auction while copies with dustjackets linger unknown in Stores.

zlinda (1707 ) View Listings | Report Mar-17-08 07:07 PDT 8 of 8
hummingbirdcolumbine6: YW, glad to be of some assistance.

A copy of McCloskey's Caldecott Medal book, Make Way For Ducklings, was recently offered for sale on ABE at $9000. It is no longer available, so I assumed it was sold.

In our opinion, Make Way For Ducklings and The Little House are the scarcest of the Caldecott Medal books, and much more difficult to find than Where The Wild Things Are. I've never come across a first edition MWFD in DJ on eBay, in our 10 years of looking, although did purchase one sans DJ a number of years ago.
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Collectible Childrens Books on eBay

Re: Post #8 on this thread:

1902 Tale of Peter Rabbit - $3338

zlinda (1707 ) View Listings | Report Mar-23-08 10:08 PDT

Here. From the item description:

" THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT " by Beatrix Potter. First Edition. n.d. 1902, Frederick Warne & Co., London. ILLUSTRATED. 97 pgs. 4 1/4" x 5 3/4". HC, bound in dark brown boards. Paper onlay color illustration of central character Peter Rabbit in center of rectangular blind panel. Silver inlay titling to cover and spine. All important first edition grey leaf pattern endpapers.

CONDITION: Very Good Plus/Fine. Book sits square w/flat boards and beautiful corners. Cover is exceptionally clean front/rear and spine w/a 1" pencil mark to front board on left side, see photo. Tightly Bound w/cracked front hinge and excellent rear hinge. Clean textblock w/no writing, signatures, stamps etc. Childs "doodle artwork" to rear endpapers, see photo. All pages are crsip clean and white w/no toning. An extremely rare and beautiful book. "

jakoll (1065 ) View Listings | Report Mar-23-08 10:43 PDT 1 of 6

Sorry...but I just can't call a book VG++-Fine with a cracked front hinge and doodlework on the endpapers. It's a plain VG+ and that's all.....you can't rate a book higher because it's a kids book or slightly aged.


zlinda (1707 ) View Listings | Report Mar-23-08 14:30 PDT 2 of 6

"you can't rate a book higher because it's a kids book or slightly aged"

I agree. And I've never handled a book with a cracked hinge that I would grade a 'VG+'; however this book is in exceptional condition otherwise.

How much does the 'doodle' affect the condition grading for a children's book?

jakoll (1065 ) View Listings | Report Mar-23-08 14:52 PDT 3 of 6

I would say it should take it down at least one grade if it's on the ffeps and more if it's in text or on the illustrations.


imagine.ink (1630 ) View Listings | Report Mar-25-08 20:19 PDT 4 of 6

Most significant of all ... this book is not a first printing (as is implied in the description of First Edition), but a fourth printing.

The auction's description states:

FREDERICK WARNE AND CO. first edition points include color Peter Rabbit cover overlay pastedown illustration inside rectangular blind panel outlined in blind on dark brown boards, black & white vignette on title page and most importantly- 97 pages w/color frontispiece and 30 color plates by Edmund Evans, Grey Holly-Leaf patterned endpapers. Later "early" editions have only 85 pages and illustrated endpapers. Pg. 51 reads, "...shed big tears."

According to the Linder bibliography (page 421), "The words 'wept big tears' on page 51 of the first three printings have been changed to 'shed big tears' in the fourth printing."

Linder also states 8250 copies were printed (following 8000 first printing copies, 12,000 second printing copies and 8220 third printing copies).

Additionally, Linder states that the fourth printing was in April, 1903, which differs from the seller's description of 1902.

The comparables cited by the seller were most likely first printings. To compare asking prices of a first printing with estimated values of a fourth printing is like comparing apples and oranges.
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