ABC for Tiny Schools

Los Angeles: Dawson's Book Shop, 1975. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. FIRST EDITION, no limitation stated, bound by Bela Blau. Miniature Book. 3/4 x 1/2 inches. [62] pp. Title page with school-house ornament, each opening contains a letter and short text on the left and the same letter in an ornate font on the right; text clean, unmarked. Full brown morocco, spine titled in gilt; binding square and tight. Fine. Cheney here deploys the text of the Apple Pie ABC, one of the earliest and most enduring English alphabet rhymes for children. The earliest known version of the rhyme occurs in a religious work dated 1671, but only contains the letters A-G. The first complete version appeared in Child's New Plaything: Being a Spelling-Book Intended to Make the Learning to Read a Diversion Instead of a Task (London, 1742). REFERENCES: Bradbury, 20th Century US Miniature Books, No. 680; Jones, A Los Angeles Typesticker, No. 88. (Inventory #: CGSZ118-012)