Vintage Children's Book: The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper's Feast, Part One

Today's vintage children's book, The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper's Feast, by Alan Aldridge and William Plommer, has some interesting history behind it. First of all, the book is based on a poem written by William Roscoe in 1807. The poem is about a highly anticipated party attended by insects and small animals.

But first, let's take a look at the original book. (Images are from The Project Gutenberg)

A short bio on Roscoe: William Roscoe (1753-1831) was born in Liverpool. A smart fellow, he left school at the tender age of 12, having learned all the schoolmaster could teach him. He then helped his father, a market gardener, studying and reading in his free time. This was a happy period in his life and gardening and agriculture were lifelong interests. 

Roscoe studied law, became a lawyer, married and had 10 children. He was also a writer, well liked and an expert in the language and literature of Italy. To read more about Roscoe go to this link.

Here is a later version of The Butterflys' Ball, published around 1886. (All images are from the Ball State University Digital Media Repository.)

Aldridge and Plomer's spin on Roscoe's poem resulted in elaborate and highly detailed illustrations and a much expanded and lengthy poem. Here are some of the characters in the book.

"Harold The Herald"

"Mrs. Dormouse"

"Old Blind Mole"

"Esmeralda, Seraphina and Camilla"

"Harlequin Hare"

"Major Nathaniel Gnat"

"Happy-Go-Lucky Grasshopper"

To be continued...

Pets in Vintage Children's Books

Image via TheOldOwl

Drawing Cats by Gladys Emerson Cook

Timid Timothy, illustrated by Gweneira Williams

Image via dimestorechic

Fraidy Cat, illustrated by Barbara Maynard

Image via Art Fire

Goldfish, illustrated by Joy Buba

Image via midsummerdaydream

Image via Etsy seller Kelly

Cocker Spaniel, illustrated by Lucy Dawson

Image via birdhousebooks

The Different Dog, illustrated by Paul Galdone

Image via kelleystreetvintage

Image via VintageAndNostalgia

Illustration by Brian Wildsmith

Image via Quinn M.

From Monsieur Bussy, The Celebrated Hamster, 

Illustrated by Annick Delhumeau

Image via Vintage Children's Books

The Big Book of Pets illustrated by Janusz Grabianski

Vintage Children's Books: They Were Strong And Good, Robert Lawson

Every time I see Robert Lawson's artwork I am struck by how excellent his

drawing skills were. In They Were Strong And Good, which is also written by

Lawson, he chronicles and illustrates the history of his parents and their parents. It is written in the narrative of himself as a young boy.

In the foreword Lawson writes about his forebears "None of them were great or famous, but they were strong and good."

To view a previous on Robert Lawson, click here. To read about Lawson click

on his name in the side bar under illustrators and artists.

They Were Strong And Good

Written and Illustrated by Robert Lawson

Viking Press, 1940