Humpty Dumpty: Magical Changes with Mother Goose Melodies (Transformation Book, 1879)
New York: G.W. Carleton & Co., 1879. First edition. Small octavo (approx. 7.5 x 5 in.). [16] pages, fully illustrated in color, with 8 transformation plates. Soft pictorial wrappers as issued. Each right-hand page contains an image with an integrated flap. As each flap is lifted, the picture changes dramatically, revealing a surprise twist to the nursery rhyme scene beneath.
Condition: Good to Very Good. Binding reinforced with archival materials inside spine. Complete with all transformation plates present and functional. Some light staining and edge wear consistent with age and handling. A rare survival of this early American transformation book.
This delightful mechanical picture book is one of six titles in the Magic Mother Goose Series, a highly imaginative set of transforming nursery rhyme books designed by the prolific Donaldson Brothers firm, and published by George Washington Carleton. Each flap reveals a new scene or twist in the classic tales, with illustrations signed "W.L.S." for William Ludwell Sheppard (1833–1912), a respected illustrator and Civil War-era artist from Virginia.
The six titles in the series, all copyright 1879, are:
Mother Goose (First Series)
Mother Goose (Second Series)
Mother Goose (Third Series)
Old Mother Hubbard
How Eight Men Became One
Humpty Dumpty
All were offered individually or together in a clothbound omnibus edition titled The Magic Mother Goose, with all the flaps intact.
Collector's Corner:
This edition is part of the patented Star Series of mechanical books designed and printed by the Donaldson Brothers, one of the leading chromolithography firms of the late 19th century. Known for their vivid color work, Donaldson Brothers supplied illustrations for both books and commercial packaging.
The publisher, G. W. Carleton & Co., was founded in 1861 as the successor to Rudd and Carleton. George Washington Carleton began his publishing career in 1857 and gained a reputation for savvy business sense and an eye for popular titles. In 1867, the firm became G. W. Carleton and Co., with George Wellington Dillingham joining as a partner in 1871. Upon Carleton's retirement in 1886, the company transitioned into the G. W. Dillingham Company, which remained active until bankruptcy in 1916.
Carleton is profiled in J. C. Derby's Fifty Years Among Authors, Books and Publishers and in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 49.
References:
Derby, J. C. Fifty Years Among Authors, Books and Publishers (1884).
Bruccoli, Matthew J., ed. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 49: American Literary Publishing Houses, 1638-1899. Gale, 1986, pp. 84-85.
Trademark: Star Series, Donaldson Brothers, printers and chromolithographers.
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All books returnable within 10 days of receipt if not delighted for any reason!