- First Edition: Published by Houghton Mifflin in 1942
- It had blue cloth for the cover material.
- Printing process was offset lithography
- Pagination: [1-2], 3-41
Dedication:
- Transcription: “To: Dorgie”
- Description: “To: Dorgie” is surrounded by a ring of daisies with yellow butterflies. Within the “D” of “Dorgie” there is a “g” and an “e” to clarify that this is for Virginia Lee Burton’s husband George, but also her two sons who called their father “Dorgie.”
Illustrations
- illustrator: Virginia Lee Burton
- medium: watercolor
- number/extent of illustrations: There are 14 full illustrated pages. 11 pages are illustrated with the text while 7 pages have illustrations that fully span both pages. The end pages are also illustrated with pictures of the little house with various scenes of people passing by in different modes of transportation. The title page and dedication page also have illustrations
General physical appearance of book
This sample page has text which curves towards the drawing on the other page so these measurements are taken from the longest points
- The text specifically flows with the countryside pictures by curving, and becomes block like when the story goes into the city.
- The typography is clear and readable it is 18pt Garamond and half a centimeter in height.
- Paper: The paper in the copy I have is off-white but crisp and still medium strong. The first edition copy has darker off-white pages, but paper looks in good condition
This sample page has text which curves towards the drawing on the other page so these measurements are taken from the longest points
- size/width of margins – top: 7cm, bottom: 7 cm. left: 7cm, right: 6cm (measured from the end of the longest word)
- size of text block (measurements in centimeters)- 8cm x 11cm.
Binding: tight with sharp corner, cloth material, blue and white.
Title Page
- recto and verso transcription of first edition: The Little House. Story and Pictures by Virginia Lee Burton. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston. 1942
Jacket description(Left Side): $1.75. The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton. The little house stood in the country, with trees and fields around her, and with birds and flowers and children for company. In the distance twinkled the lights of the big city, and the little house wondered what it would be like to live there. One day steam shovels dug a road in front of the little house, and soon she was surrounded by houses and stores. Then tall skyscrapers rose on either side of her, elevated trains roared past her, and a subway shook the ground under her foundation. She longed for a glimpse of the stars and the scent of apple blossoms, but she was caught by the big city. Then, when she was so old and shabby that nobody wanted to live in her, she had an unexpected chance to escape. In ‘The Little House’ Virginia Lee Burton has written and illustrated a story for children of the same age as those who have loved and worn to shreds two of her earlier books – ‘Choo Choo’ and ‘Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.’
Copyright page
- first edition: Copyright © 1942 by Virginia Lee Demetrios. All rights reserved including the right to reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form. Printed in the U.S.A
- Alternate Version: Copyright © 1942 by Virginia Lee Demetrios. Copyright © renewed 1969 by George Demetrios. All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003. ISBN 0-395-18156-9 ISBN 0-395-25938-x (pbk.) Manufactured in China SCP 80 79 78 77 76
Manuscript Holdings - The Little House manuscript is located at the University of Minnesota's Kerlan Collection. (Larson)
Resources:
Book_books. "The Little House ~ VIRGINIA LEE BURTON ~ 1st Edition ~ 2nd Printing DJ Caldecott." EBay. EBay, 5 Sept. 2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Little-House-VIRGINIA-LEE-BURTON-1st-Edition-2nd-Printing-DJ-Caldecott-/221155159339?nma=true>.
Larson, Nancy. "Virginia Lee Burton Papers." University of Minnesota, 2008. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. <http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/xml/CLRC-10.xml#file4>.
Miller, Bertha Mahony., and Elinor Whitney. Field. "The Caldecott Award 1943: The Little House." Caldecott Medal Books: 1938-1957 with the Artist's Acceptance Papers and Related Material Chiefly from the Horn Book Magazine. Boston: Horn Book, 1966. 87-97. Print.
Raptis Rare Books, ABAA/ ILAB. "The Little House." By Burton, Virginia Lee.: Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1942. 9780613298032 Signed by Author(s). Abebooks.com, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. <http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=6504645852>.
Zielinski, Linda, and Stan Zielinski. "Little House First Edition Identification." Little House First Edition Identification. Children's Picture Book Collecting, July 2007. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. <http://1stedition.net/identification_points/little_house.html>.
Book_books. "The Little House ~ VIRGINIA LEE BURTON ~ 1st Edition ~ 2nd Printing DJ Caldecott." EBay. EBay, 5 Sept. 2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Little-House-VIRGINIA-LEE-BURTON-1st-Edition-2nd-Printing-DJ-Caldecott-/221155159339?nma=true>.
Larson, Nancy. "Virginia Lee Burton Papers." University of Minnesota, 2008. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. <http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/xml/CLRC-10.xml#file4>.
Miller, Bertha Mahony., and Elinor Whitney. Field. "The Caldecott Award 1943: The Little House." Caldecott Medal Books: 1938-1957 with the Artist's Acceptance Papers and Related Material Chiefly from the Horn Book Magazine. Boston: Horn Book, 1966. 87-97. Print.
Raptis Rare Books, ABAA/ ILAB. "The Little House." By Burton, Virginia Lee.: Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1942. 9780613298032 Signed by Author(s). Abebooks.com, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. <http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=6504645852>.
Zielinski, Linda, and Stan Zielinski. "Little House First Edition Identification." Little House First Edition Identification. Children's Picture Book Collecting, July 2007. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. <http://1stedition.net/identification_points/little_house.html>.