Number Two
Applewood Miscellany
Raising Your Great-Grandparents
e have been privileged to bring our cameras into the American Antiquarian Society and capture their unique collection of American children’s books. In this Miscellany, we present pages from the collection that build a picture of what it may have been like to be a child, parent, or teacher in days gone by. The pages reveal a tougher world, where behavior meant the difference between life and death. In Old Pop Corn, an anthropomorphized ear of corn out for a walk is stripped of his kernels by bullying gangs of boys and girls. In Daddy Long Legs, a little girl is brought to the home of a misanthropic spider who strangles her and then feels perverse remorse that he has lost his only chance to have a friend. In today’s world of cartoon and literature these moments might be considered funny; in days gone by, one gets the feeling, these were not laughing matters, but ways of teaching children to mind their elders, avoid strangers, and stay safe from harm.
There are other themes that make the good old
days seem not so good and strangely far, far away: overt racism, sexism, cruelty to animals, authoritarianism. Fortunately, there are also themes that make us all wish we were transported back in time: charity, devotion, kindness, a sense of leisure, and a connection to the natural world. Books like Cruise of the Walnut Shell expose a gentle world in which children were free to experience the edges of their imagination unfettered by parental control. But then again, what one sees on From Bob’s School Days
the surface of the past is always only a reflection of our own time.
Copyright © 2012 Applewood Books, Inc, Carlisle, MA 01741 • Visit us at: http://am2.awb.com
From The Cruise of the Walnut Shell applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429080132
From Freaks and Frolics of Little Girls & Boys applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429081566
ABCs & Schooling
From The Merry Alphabet
applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429080682
From A.B.C. of Objects
applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429080095
From Apple-pie ABC
applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429080149
From Bob’s School Days
applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429080354
From The Story of Columbus for Little Folks applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429081061
People: Real & Fictional
From The Story of Columbus for Little Folks applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429081061
From Pocahontas
applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429080941
From The Wonderful Leaps of Sam Patch applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429081290
From Yankee Doodle
applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429081320
From Bible Heroes
applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429080187
From Tom Thumb
applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429081153
From An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429080460
Animals: Domestic, Wild & Circus
From Landseer’s Picture Book of Dogs applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429080637
From Landseer’s Picture Book of Dogs applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429080637
From Domestic Animals
applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429080361
From Wild Animals
applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429081252
From A Peep at the Circus
applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429080859
From Wonders of the Circus
applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429081313
From Santa Claus & His Works
applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429081245
Toys & Games
From Home Games for Little Boys
applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429080552
From The Brave Tin Soldier
applewoodbooks.com/index.php/9781429081450
From Winter Sports awb.com/9781429080927
The images from the books in this issue of Applewood Miscellany come from editions held at the American Antiquarian Society, a world-renowned library and research center for the study of American history, literature, and culture located in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1812 by printer Isaiah Thomas, the Society collects, preserves, and makes accessible books, pamphlets, newspapers, and printed visual art produced in what is now the United States between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. At 17,000 volumes, the AAS Children’s Literature Collection is the most comprehensive collection of its kind in the world. Every year, the AAS hosts a number of public programs and research fellowship opportunities to increase public understanding of American history. Visit the American Antiquarian Society on the web at: www.americanantiquarian.org
This issue is a sampler of the many children’s books photographed and made available in print and e-book by Applewood Books from originals housed at the American Antiquarian Society. For a complete list of titles currently available and more information about each title, visit: aas.awb.com
From The Cruise of the Walnut Shell
To Order: Call 9:00 AM-5:00 PM (Eastern) Mon-Fri 800-277-5312 or visit Applewood Books @ awb.com
Applewood Books Publishers of America’s Living Past 1 River Road • Carlisle, MA 01741