junior deluxe editions

junior deluxe editions are those special gems that i run across from time to time while searching for books...these three are no exception. in this collection i've included little women, tales from shakespeare and through the looking-glass. which reminds me, tales from shakespeare is edited and compiled by charles and mary lamb...did you know that mary lamb murdered her mother? how odd (not to mention that some think lewis carroll was a pedophile)...and it's illustrated by leonard weisgard, who i've posted in the past.
another author who murdered is anne perry, who helped her friend murder her mother. just an morbid aside.
there's a junior deluxe edition flickr group too...right here.

tales from shakespeare by charles and mary lamb
1955, nelson doubleday
illustrated by leonard weisgard

through the looking-glass: and what alice found there by lewis carroll
c. 1955 (not dated), nelson doubleday
illustrated by john tenniel

little women by louisa may alcott
1950, nelson doubleday
illustrated by reisie lonette

the little island

this is another vintage children's book that i own which is illustrated by leonard weisgard. this is an earlier book from 1946, and this book is a collaboration with margaret wise brown. golden macdonald was a pseudonym she used. the illustrations of this book are a lot darker in nature that weisgard's later works. i'm not sure why, besides the illustration style being influenced by the time and the aftermath of a world war probably holds some influence as well. it's beautifully illustrated, quite unique and the story is really wonderful too. it won the caldecott award in 1947.

the little island by golden macdonald
1st edition, 1946, doubleday & co., new york
illustrated by leonard weisgard
lithographed

the big book of nursery tales

i'm not going to go on and on about how much i love this book. i am a lover of books, hands down. i'm specifically a lover of books such as this. if you've been following this blog, then you know this by now. i must start with leonard weisgard. he's just amazing. the cover of the book even reads, "beautifully illustrated by..." beyond that...nursery tales such as "goldilocks and the three bears," "little red riding hood," and similar stories are all time favs for a good reason. these are watered down for the chillun of course, they can be quite morbid unabridged. i wish i had included a photo of weisgard's illustration for "goldilocks..." he chose to illustrate the bear's house as a dollhouse (or a dollhouse view) which i think is pure genius. if you're into midcentury illustrations, then you must grab yourself a copy.

the big book of nursery tales retold by evelyn andreas

nursery treasure books, 1954, grosset & dunlap, new york

illustrated by leonard weisgard

lithographed