THE FARMYARD ABC. Graham & Matlack Pastime Linen Series. [Early 20th century juvenile color illustrated book printed on limp linen cloth.]

Graham & Matlack (publishers).

Published by New York: Graham & Matlack, circa 1914.

About this Item

Unpaged - 12 pages total including covers and printed entirely on limp linen cloth. H 28.25cm x L 23.75cm. Strong creasing and curling to bottom corners throughout with top corners more moderately affected, some frayed threads along edges. Features eight color illustrations on six pages (including covers) all of which reflect a Victorian flair and retain modest brightness as most have some muted tones from wrinkling and soiling. Front cover shows bonnet-clad women standing among cattle, horses, pigs, chickens, ducks, etc.; rear cover shows two young girls, presumably sisters, in a barn with small dog and several calves with the younger girl sipping from a mug held by the older sister. Two-tone illustrations and text on interior pages show some fading but are still quite legible. Published as a child's alphabet book and reader as text and both the color and b/w illustrations provide images phonetically associated with each letter with some alliterative qualities as well, i.e. "A is for Alice and for Auntie," E is for Edgar the bull calf," "K is for Katie the kitten," "Q is for Queen of the ducks, quacking to her queer children," "S is for Sammy and Snarleyow watching the swans sailing and swimming," "U is for Uncle Ulysses, the blacksmith under the shed," etc. Although OCLC does list a number of similarly titled "Farmyard ABC" books there are no citations for any member libraries possessing a Graham & Matlock edition. No publication date is provided and, although the illustrations are more late Victorian in style without any Art Nouveau influence, it seems likely that it was published circa 1914 as Graham & Matlack issued several other linen cloth books that same year. Only a good copy at best but still a charming early 20th century American juvenile illustrated reader.

Seller Inventory # Z626X-10884

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE FARMYARD ABC. Graham & Matlack Pastime Linen Series. [Early 20th century juvenile color illustrated book printed on limp linen cloth.]
• Publisher: New York: Graham & Matlack, circa 1914.
• Binding: Hardcover
• Seller catalogs:
  • Juvenile Literature