Vintage & Collectible

I've always found the below introduction amusing and am loathe to get rid of it, but it doesn't really tell you our goal of this category. You'll notice many of these books are not in-stock. It's unlikely we'll ever have very many at a time, but we're building it with the intention of helping you find the information you need to collect these series and volumes. We plan to continue adding more titles primarily from the 1960s and before, pictures, copyright dates, illustrators, ISBNs (if they exist), and more, to help you track down these awesome books from the past. If you like this section and want more, we'd like to commend the Facebook group Reshelving Alexandria, where you'll find a community of people passionate about books like these!

To see ONLY books that are actually available, use the filter below to look for in-stock books!

For some, book collecting is like African big game hunting—taking down the animal is pretty satisfying, but the real excitement is in tracking the beast, following it for hours or even days, picking up sign as it melts into the horizon until finally you get it in your sights. Eli is that kind of book collector. It's the thrill of the chase that drives him; once he completes a set or finds a particular volume it's a bit of a letdown.

That's not to say Eli doesn't love books (he owns a bookstore, after all). It's just that collecting them is something different altogether from owning or reading them, something almost primitive and instinctual, drawing on skills that lie dormant in most of us. The book collector's skills are the same that help a man on safari smell his prey in an old footprint or see a clump of fur caught in the bark of a palm tree or simply see the animal in the distance.

These aren't just any kind of books we're talking about collecting. Anyone can procure each volume of their favorite new fiction, or each year's New York Times bestsellers. They're everywhere, and they don't take much effort to find. The kind of books collectors go for (especially collectors like Eli) are hard or next to impossible to find, typically old, and just plain cool.

Exactly the kind of books we've put in this category, in fact. "Vintage & Collectible" isn't just some goofy title we came up with to generate interest; although most of these books are not technically "rare," and only occasionally expensive, they aren't at every street corner bookshop and they're typically titles appealing to a very specific readership (or ownership, if we're going to be entirely accurate). There's plenty here that the more average library compilers among us will find interesting.

As you scan the titles below, imagine you're in some mahogany-lined old bookstore in an old city and that a whispy-haired old man can tell you the history of each volume in his collection. Or just look for the book you're after, it might be there. Whatever you do, give these books a good home and help us perpetuate one of the most exciting and underappreciated sports in the world.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Subcategories
102 Items found Print
Active Filters: Biographies, 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Hardcover
Abe Lincoln
by Hilah Paulmier (compiled and edited by), illustrated by Lee Ames
First Edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance
by Frances Cavanah
from Rand McNally
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Abigail Adams
A Discovery Book
by Helen Stone Peterson, illustrated by Betty Fraser
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Abraham Lincoln
A Discovery Book
by Anne Colver
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Abraham Lincoln
Initial Biography
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Historical Non-fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
African Traveler
by Ronald Syme
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Alec Hamilton: The Little Lion
by Helen Boyd Higgins
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
America's Robert E. Lee
by Henry Steele Commager, illustrated by Lynd Ward
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Andrew Jackson
Initial Biography
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Angel of Mercy
by Rachel Baker
from Julian Messner
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 1st-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Betsy Ross: Girl of Old Philadelphia
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Ann Weil, illustrated by Al Fiorentino
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Book of Famous Explorers
Young Folks Library
by Edwin Erle Sparks, editor
from Auxiliary Educational League
for 3rd-9th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Boyhoods of Great Composers
Young Readers Guides to Music
by Catherine Gough, illustrated by Edward Ardizzone
1961 Reprint from Henry Z. Walck, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Cabin Boy to Advent Crusader
by Virgil Robinson, illustrated by Harry Baerg
from Southern Publishing Association
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Champions of Freedom Every Child Should Know
The "What Every Child Should Know" Library
by Marion Florence Lansing, illustrated by Henry Pitz
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Children of the Northlights
by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, Ingri d'Aulaire
1962 Reprint from Viking Press
for Preschool-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the White House
by Frances Cavanah, illustrated by Genevieve Foster
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Christopher Columbus
Follett Beginning-to-Read Level 3 reader
by Clara Ingram Judson, illustrated by Polly Jackson
from Follett
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Christopher Columbus and His Brothers
by Amy Hogeboom
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Book of Marvels
by Richard Halliburton
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Davy Crockett: Young Rifleman
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Aileen Wells Parks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Dolly Madison, Quaker Girl
by Helen A. Monsell
First Edition from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 2nd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
El Cid
by Maria De Vivanco, illustrated by Laszlo Gal
from Golden Press
Biography for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Francis and Clare, Saints of Assisi
by Helen Walker Homan
Stated First Printing from Vision Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (2 in stock)
George Pullman: Young Sleeping Car Builder
by Elisabeth P. Myers, Illustrated by Al Fiorentino
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
George Rogers Clark: Boy of the Old Northwest
by Katharine E. Wilkie, Illustrated by Paul Laune
1st edition from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
George Washington
by Clara Ingram Judson
from Follett
Biography for 3rd-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Golden Book History of the United States
by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Alton S. Tobey and Richard P. Kluga
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Golden Book History of the United States - 12 Volume Set
by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Alton S. Tobey and Richard P. Kluga
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Golden Book History of the United States Volume 1
by Earl Schenck Miers
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Handel at the Court of Kings
by Opal Wheeler, illustrated by Mary Greenwalt
1958 Seventh Printing from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Happy Times in Norway
by Sigrid Undset, translated by Joran Birkeland
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heroes of the Army in America
by Charles Morris
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Horseman of the King
by Cyril J. Davey
1970 printing from Christian Literature Crusade
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
James Clerk Maxwell and Electromagnetism
Immortals of Science
by Charles Paul May
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
James J. Hill: Young Empire Builder
by Mildred Comfort
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Jane Addams
A Discovery Book
by Helen Stone Peterson
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Jed Smith, Young Western Explorer
by Olive W. Burt
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
John Alden
by Olive W. Burt
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
John Jacob Aster: Boy Trader
by Dorothy S. Anderson, illustrated by Gray Morrow
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
John Paul Jones
A Discovery Book
by Stewart Graff, illustrated by William Hutchinson
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
John Paul Jones: Salt-Water Boy
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dorothea J. Snow
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
John Wesley
by May McNeer, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Abingdon Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Kit Carson
by Shannon Garst
from Julian Messner
Biography for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Kit Carson
A Discovery Book
by Nardi Reeder Campion, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Leif Eriksson
by Katherine B. Shippen
1st edition from Harper & Brothers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lincoln's Little Correspondent
by Hertha Pauli, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Lives of the Presidents told in Words of One Syllable
by Jean S. Remy
from A. L. Burt Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
Louisa May Alcott: Her Life
by Catherine Owens Peare, illustrated by Margaret Ayer
from Henry Holt and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Luther Burbank: Nature's Helper
Makers of America
by Lillian J. Bragdon, illustrated by Frederick T. Chapman
from Abingdon Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Martha Washington: First Lady of the Land
by LaVere Anderson, illustrated by Cary
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Mary Jemison, Seneca Captive
by Jeanne LeMonnier Gardner; illustrated by Robert Parker
First Edition from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Meet Abraham Lincoln
by Barbara Cary
from Random House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Meet Benjamin Franklin
by Maggi Scarf
from Random House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Meet Christopher Columbus
by James de Kay
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Meet John F. Kennedy
by Nancy Bean White
from Random House
for 1st-4th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Meet Martin Luther King, Jr.
by James T. DeKay
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Meet the Men who Sailed the Seas
by John Dyment, Illustrated by Victor Mays
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Meet Thomas Jefferson
by Marvin Barrett
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Minute Sketches of Great Composers
by Eva v B. Hansl, Helen L. Kaufmann, illustrated by Samuel Nisenson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biographical sketches for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
More Minute Biographies
by Samuel Nisenson and Alfred Parker
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Pen and Bayonet
Catholic Digest Junior Book Shelf / Credo Books
by Norah Smaridge, illustrated by June Roberts
First Printing from Hawthorn Books, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Pioneer Girl
by Clara Ingram Judson, illustrated by Genevieve Foster
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Pioneering on the Plains
Frontiers of America
by Edith McCall, illustrated by Carol Rogers
from Children's Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Poor Richard in France
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Brinton Turkle
from Henry Holt and Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Portugee Phillips and the Fighting Sioux
The American Adventure Series
by A. M. Anderson, Illustrated by Jack Merryweather
1st edition from Wheeler Publishing, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Prophet With Honor
by William Henry Welch
from Julian Messner
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Real Book About Abraham Lincoln
by Michael Gorham, illustrated by Elinore Blaisdell
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Real Books series (Location: VIN-RBA)
Real Book About Explorers
by Irvin Block, illustrated by Jules Gotlieb
from Garden City Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Real Books series (Location: VIN-RBA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Richard Byrd
by Guernsey Van Riper, Jr.
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Richard E. Byrd
A Discovery Book
by Adele deLeeuw, Illustrated by Al Fiorentino
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Sacagawea
by Betty Westrom Skold
from Dillon Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Samuel Morse, Inquisitive Boy
by Dorothea J. Snow
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
St. Elizabeth's Three Crowns
by Blanche Jennings Thompson, illustrated by Lili Rethi
1963 4th Printing from Vision Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Stephen Foster and His Little Dog Tray
by Opal Wheeler, illustrated by Mary Greenwalt
First Edition from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 1st-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Story of Abraham Lincoln
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #9
by Nina Brown Baker, illustrated by Warren Baumgartner
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Amelia Earhart
Signature Books #33
by Adele de Leeuw, illustrated by Harry Beckhoff
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Dwight D. Eisenhower
Signature Books #38
by Arthur J. Beckhard, illustrated by Charles H. Geer
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Louisa May Alcott
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #35
by Joan Howard, illustrated by Flora Smith
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Stephen Decatur
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #29
by Iris Vinton, illustrated by Graham Kaye
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Stephen Foster
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #31
by Esther M. Douty, illustrated by Jo Polseno
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Winston Churchill
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #40
by Alida Sims Malkus, illustrated by H. B. Vestal
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Susan Anthony
by Helen Albee Monsell
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
Tad Lincoln
A Discovery Book
by LaVere Anderson
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Tall American
by Richard Gehman, illustrated by Albert Micale
from Hawthorn Books, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Thomas Jefferson
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Thomas Jefferson
A Discovery Book
by Anne Colver, illustrated by Cary
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
True Stories of Great Men & Women For Young Americans
from W. E. Scull
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
True Story of Napoleon
by Anthony Corley
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
True Story of Sir Francis Drake
by Will Holwood
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Universe of Galileo and Newton
from Horizon Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Western Lawmen
by Frank Surge
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Western Outlaws
by Frank Surge
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Wild Bill Hickok
The American Adventure Series
by A. M. Anderson, Illustrated by Jack Merryweather
1st edition from Wheeler Publishing, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Will and Charlie Mayo: Doctor's Boys
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Marie Hammontree, Illustrated by Dorothy Bayley Morse
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
World Explorer: Henry Morton Stanley
World Explorer
by Charles P. Graves
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
World Explorer: James Cook
by Adele Deleeuw
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
World Explorer: John Smith
World Explorer
by Charles P. Graves, illustrated by Al Fiorentino
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
World Explorer: Robert Falcon Scott
by Joan Bristow
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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