Children's Literature
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ȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢ ȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢȢDecember 19, 2014 INDEXES ON Newsstand Rate $1.75 Published by The Bee Publishing Company, Newtown, Connecticut PAGES 66 & 67 Children’s Literature 100 Books At The Grolier Club BY KATE EAGEN JOHNSON NEW YORK CITY — The ultimate free-spirit Pippi Longstocking pushed off the list by that martinet Mary Poppins! I cannot believe it. My red-pigtailed childhood alter-ego who lived in that crazy house with her horse and monkey unfettered by supervision failed to make the final cut. Exhibition curator Chris Loker shared the clash of “Mary versus Pippi” to illustrate the difficult deci- sionmaking required to arrive at the Grolier Club’s “One Hundred Books Famous in Children’s Literature,” on view through February 7 at the head- quarters of America’s oldest bibliophile society, founded in 1884. The formulation of the joint catalog and exhibition was not an exercise in nos- talgia, even as Loker recognizes, and even honors, the powerful emotional pull children’s books can exert upon memory. Her intent was to produce a scholarly tool for serious book collectors while also crafting a catalog and exhibition that would delight the general reading public as well as hard-core bibliophiles. According to Loker, “Through this project we have tried to find as many ways as possible to embrace children’s literature.” More than a century before the British Museum and BBC created the often-emulated History of the World in One Hundred Objects radio and online program, New York’s Grolier Club had launched its own “One Hundred” series. The club’s first such exhibition and catalog, One Hundred Books Famous in English Literature, dates to 1902–03. It was followed by parallel offerings on American literature (1946–47), science (exhibition in 1958 and catalog in 1964) and medi- cine (1994). A 1999 project on fine printing kept the spirit, if not the exact title, of the theme. Children’s literature is the latest offering in this sequence. As Loker remarked, “I wanted children’s literature to be viewed in the Visit from St Nicholas by Clement Clarke ( continued on page 6C ) Moore, illustrated by Thomas Nast, New York, 1823. Lender: Beinecke Rare Book & Raggedy Ann doll, possibly United Manuscript Library, Yale University. States, circa 1960, fabric. Anonymous lender. Johnny Gruelle, author of the Raggedy Ann books, sold the first dolls in 1918. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, illus- A Apple Pie illustrated by Kate Greenaway, London, 1886. Lender: trated by W.W. Denslow, New York, 1900. Lender: Chantal Hodges. In the late Nineteenth Century, the “Kate Greenaway Peter E. Hanff. look” extended to children’s clothing styles and interior décor. 6C — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — December 19, 2014 Hornbook, probably England, late Eighteenth Century, ivory and silver. Lender: Ellen A. Michelson. Curious George by H.A. Rey and Margret Rey, Boston, 1941. Lender: Ellen A. Michelson. Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by the author, London, 1902. Lender: Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University. Tin Woodman and Scarecrow Dolls by Oz Doll & Toy The Hobbit written and illustrated by J.R.R. Royal Instructor, probably England, circa Manufacturing Company for Frank Joslyn Baum, Tolkien, London, 1937. Lender: Lilly Library, 1790, ivory, 26 disks in a cylindrical box. Los Angeles, circa 1924, “art leather” and kapok Indiana University, Bloomington. Lender: Ellen A. Michelson. stuffing. Lender: Peter E. Hanff. Children’s Literature 100 Books At The Grolier Club ( continued from page 1C ) special series and for supporting her sprinkled in. And so we learn how Lives and Joyful Deaths of Several and the team through the five years it “Yahoo,” “Goody Two-Shoes,” Young Children, 1671. Those Puritans same way as adult literature, to stand took to produce the catalog, exhibition “Pollyanna” and other familiar words certainly had a way with kids. as tall on the shelf.” and colloquium. and phrases entered the American- A headline here is that Juvenilia as a Loker is a San Francisco-based anti- Available through the Grolier Club English lexicon. The Yahoos appeared distinct literary genre dates back cen- quarian bookseller specializing in and through Oak Knoll books, the 320- in Gulliver’s Travels, published in turies, but it truly blossomed with the antique children’s books, an author of page catalog is a visual and scholarly 1726. The other two were books issued explosion of book illustration during contemporary children’s books and a wonder. Through contextual essays, in 1765 and 1913, respectively. the Nineteenth Century. While there curator of children’s book exhibitions. Justin G. Schiller, Jill Shefrin, Brian W. We see how the Brothers Jacob and are way too many factors in this fasci- Drawing upon the expertise of a nine- Alderson and Nick Clark address the Wilhelm Grimm were driven by an nating story to explore here, they member international advisory board history of collecting child-related sto- impulse to document traditional tales include developments in both technolo- as well as her own deep knowledge, ries, rhymes and literature; childhood as folklorists; writing for youth was of gy and culture. Among them is the Loker worked within the “Grolier literacy in Europe and America over secondary concern to them. We gain an adoption of wood engraving, which Hundred” rubric. She explained that time; four centuries of printing and appreciation of standard reading text- could be set alongside moveable type “the Grolier Club’s children’s exhibi- bookmaking technology; and the art of books, including McGuffey’s Eclectic and withstand the pounding of the tion and catalog is based upon the Twentieth Century picture book illus- First Reader, first published in press. Lithography, trichromatic print- ‘fame’ of the books selected, since that’s tration. Aimed squarely at rare book Cincinnati in 1836. Auto titan Henry ing, continuous paper-making the basis of the Grolier Hundred librarians, antiquarian booksellers and Ford, one of countless students who machines and other innovations played canon. As a result, we have selected high-level collectors are the catalog’s learned to read using the McGuffey a role as well. Designers modified the books that are ‘famous’ by virtue of “Principles of Description,” which out- Reader series, became so wrapped up format of the book, initially to accom- being widely known at the time of their line the specifics of bibliographic treat- in its symbolism that he not only col- modate illustrations. Soon after, within creation and admired over following ment for these 100 titles and select lected copies, but also ordered the con- a single volume, words and pictures generations — in the process demon- variants. struction of a reproduction one-room would vie for relative importance and strating literary merit and unparal- Whether we are book mavens or not, schoolhouse from logs salvaged from a weight. Eventually the picture book leled popularity.” The “Greatest Hits” as we turn the pages of the catalog we barn on the McGuffey farmstead as would be conceived as an integrated she has chosen are primarily first edi- are bound to come across “old friends” part of Greenville Village, his outdoor whole. tions and date from the early 1600s to as well as titles never before chanced history museum. On the consumers’ side, changes in the year 2000. upon or perhaps known only slightly. While many titles are capable of pro- attitude and lifestyle sparked greater Loker is grateful to the Grolier Club, All are represented by one or more voking a warm smile of remembrance, demand for children’s literature. In the of which she is a member, for initiating illustrations and by a few paragraphs some might not. Consider A Token for Nineteenth Century, the establishment the project, for respecting children’s lit- indicating how the title met the criteri- Children, Being An Exact Account of of public schools and libraries, erature enough to make it part of this on of “fame,” often with some fun facts the Conversion, Holy and Exemplary advancements in artificial lighting and December 19, 2014 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — 7C A Little Pretty Pocket-Book … [and] also A Ball and Pincushion; The Use of which will infallibly make Tommy a good Boy, and Polly a good Girl, printed by Isaiah Thomas, Worcester, Mass., 1787. Photo courtesy of the Morgan Library & Museum, New York City. If you think a book and companion giveaway is a new idea, not so. This is the only copy of this title known to survive with its original linen pincush- ion ball and silk drawstring bag. Alas, the ball is not a true toy, but rather a behav- ior modification device. A caregiver was instructed to place a pin on the “good” or “bad” side of the pincushion for each good or bad act performed by the child. Attention sewing equipment collectors: if you have one of these pincushions, it is a real find! Apparently unpublished draw- ing by Walter Crane, circa 1865, watercolor and ink on paper with calligraphed text pasted on. Provenance: Edmund Evans archive. Anonymous lender. The following nursery rhymes are illustrated: “High diddle diddle,” “Little Boy Blue,” “I had a little husband,” “Fee, Fo, Fum,” “Three Blind Mice,” “There was a little man,” “Little Jack Horner,” “Rub a dub dub” and “Goosey Goosey Gander.” ‘I wanted children’s literature to stand tall on The House that Jack Built, illustrated by Randolph Caldecott, London, 1878. Lenders: Pamela and Benson Harer. the shelf.’ —Chris Loker, curator Millions of Cats, written and illustrat- ed by Wanda Gag, New York, 1928. Lenders: Linda F. & Julian L. Lapides. This popular graphic artist and book illus- trator was inspired by Bohemian folk Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book, Vol.