Babys ABC Deans Rag Book Code No 80 Front Cover Illustration by David Brett
Anchor and Ball Color Chromolithograph on Butterfly Fold Cloth Pages
Early Twentieth Century Juvenile Object Alphabet Rag Book Interior Page
Early Twentieth Century Juvenile Object Alphabet Rag Book Interior Page
Rear Wrapper Condition of Babys ABC Series Printed Between 1908 and 1913
  • Load image into Gallery viewer, Babys ABC Deans Rag Book Code No 80 Front Cover Illustration by David Brett
  • Load image into Gallery viewer, Anchor and Ball Color Chromolithograph on Butterfly Fold Cloth Pages
  • Load image into Gallery viewer, Early Twentieth Century Juvenile Object Alphabet Rag Book Interior Page
  • Load image into Gallery viewer, Early Twentieth Century Juvenile Object Alphabet Rag Book Interior Page
  • Load image into Gallery viewer, Rear Wrapper Condition of Babys ABC Series Printed Between 1908 and 1913

Baby's A.B.C. (Code No. 80)

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(Alphabet) Baby's A.B.C. (Code No. 80); illustrated by David Brett (pseudonym of Eugenie Richards). London: Dean's Rag Book Co., Ltd., between 1908-1913. FIRST EDITION. 4to - 11-1/2" x 7-3/4". [18] butterfly-folded double cloth pages including wrappers.

Bound in pink cloth-backed color pictorial cloth wrappers, sewn as issued. The textile edges exhibit the publisher's standard serrated pinking to the head and foot. The condition of the book is VERY GOOD, showing minor spotting to the back wrapper, with foxing and localized staining present on the internal textile pages.

Material Construction and Nursery Iconography

Patented at the beginning of the 20th century by Henry Samuel Dean, the Dean’s Rag Book Company produced juvenile books utilizing washable cotton cloth sheets and colorfast, non-toxic inks. This copy of Baby's A.B.C. (Code No. 80) features a "butterfly fold" construction, where the linen leaves are printed on one side and bound back-to-back to simulate the structural rigidity of a traditional board book.

The volume is an alphabet object book illustrated under the pseudonym David Brett by Eugenie Richards, a prolific early designer for the firm. Each letter is paired with a corresponding noun and graphic depiction (e.g., "A stands for Anchor. B stands for Ball. C stands for Circus"). Reflecting the pervasive social prejudices and linguistic norms of early 20th-century British juvenile publishing, the entry for the letter "N" utilizes a racial slur to describe a caricature—an inclusion that demonstrates what was deemed acceptable in mainstream Edwardian educational media.

Bibliographic Census and Preservation

Textile primers of this era were manufactured as durable toys and routinely subjected to heavy laundering, tearing, and nursery wear, resulting in a low survival rate for unvandalized or complete copies. This volume remains structurally intact with the text block and stitching secure. A current global institutional census via WorldCat locates only a single copy in public holdings worldwide, preserved within the permanent collections of the Princeton University Library.

A SCARCE AND STRUCTURALLY COMPLETE EXAMPLE OF AN EARLY DEAN'S RAG BOOK PRIMER, OF NOTE TO SPECIALIZED COLLECTIONS DOCUMENTING THE HISTORY OF MATERIAL CULTURE, TEXTILE PRINTING, AND HISTORIC RACIAL REPRESENTATION IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE.

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