boy scout handbook

this is a 1965 edition of the boy scouts of america's boy scout handbook...this book includes a surprising amount of information. besides laying out all the rules, awards, oaths and codes of being a proper boy scout (from "tenderfoot" to "eagle scout")...this book has knowledge on camping (everything you need to know from building a tent to campfire recipes), bird and wildlife identification and tracking, mapping, constellations, wood-lore, morse code, conservation, tying knots, athletics...and much much more. this book is a fantastic reference for many things and the illustrations are amazing!

boy scout handbook
1965, boy scouts of america, new jersey
no. 3227

where have you been?

this little pamphlet style book is one of my favorite finds of late. it's incredibly endearing from the short rhymes by goodnight moon's margaret wise brown to the illustrations by barbara cooney.

i love the illustrations so much i could get them tattooed all over my body. seriously, i can go ga-ga for some of these books. from time to time i think of the tattooed disney man and come back to my senses. anyways, if you can find a copy...snap it up!

where have you been? by margaret wise brown
first scholastic edition, 1965, scholastic book services
illustrated by barbara cooney

i know a giraffe

i love these silkscreen illustrations...although i think this book is actually all lithograph...but the blue, olive, gold and black palette on white is fantastic! the creatures are darling and the detail and patterns are also really something. a must own book.

i know a giraffe:a tall tale by david omar white
first edition, 1965, alfred a. knopf, new york
illustrated by author

my first golden encyclopedia

this is so not the encyclopedia that i had as a kid...i had the brittannica boring version...i clearly remember copying word for word everything about magellan for a school project, this was before i knew anything about plagiarism or proper research :)

if i had this encyclopedia, i may not have had the same depth of information but a whole lot more fun researching anything. the subtitle of this book is, "everything the beginner wants to know, from aircraft to zebra." and the pictures are just so pretty. and it's illustrated by william dugan. and everything is written to look like a poem. it's perfect!

my first golden encyclopedia: everything the beginner wants to know, from aircraft to zebra by jane werner watson
a golden book, 1965, golden press, new york
illustrated by william dugan
consultant bertha morris parker

pinocchio

there's a used bookstore around here that i visit on occasion...i don't go very often simply because i always forget it's there. i am so glad i remembered because it was a veritable feast of vintage children's books. some of them were ridiculously priced, but i found quite a few that were in my price range. this is one of the books i picked up and i am in love with it. pinocchio has always been one of my favorite stories, i enjoy the idea that something animate can be created from something inanimate...and be emotive or "human" enough to actually have flaws. anyways, this edition was designed by helga maass and illustrated by josé correas, both of which i couldn't find much information on. i am enamored of the line drawn style of the illustrations, the whole book is just fantastic...i highly recommend locating a copy. what i find odd about this book is that so many people are credited...the original author collodi, a general editor, an editorial director, a handful of associate editors and authors, a designer and an illustrator...quite a production!

pinocchio by collodi (retold by eve rouke)

edited by m. hughes miller, directed by josephine b. wolfe

the holly story book library, 1965, the world publishing co., cleveland

illustrated by josé correas

designed by helga maass

peter pauper press

i've been collecting peter pauper press books for a long time...i first discovered them at this great book sale in lancaster county, pennsylvania. peter pauper press was devoted to publishing fine gift books, in smaller sizes with exemplary design and illustration inclusions and overall high quality production. these books are real treasures, and when i see one i get it. i find it very interesting that the press was started by a husband and wife team in the basement of their mount vernon, ny home. you can read more about the history of this press here. all the books i own appear to be letterpress printed. i own several titles by this press, including:
chinese proverbs from olden times by harry behn (not credited - 1956)
comic epitaphs from the very best old graveyards gathered and published by peter pauper press and illustrated by henry r. martin (1957)
simple new england cookery compiled by edna beilenson (said wife) and illustrated by ruth mccrea (1962)
the japanese tea ceremony interpreted by julia v. nakamura and illustrated by shiba sumitani (1965)
on friendship: a selection edited by louise bachelder with illustrations by eric carle (1966)
the hunting of the snark and other nonsense verse by lewis carroll and illustrated by AW...i would love to know more about this illustrator, but i haven't had any luck figuring out what AW stands for...anyone have any info? (not dated)
i've written more about the press and my collection on my other blog here. and this is a fantastic set on flickr.