On the 20th day of Christmas, Babbitt's Books gave to me . . .

. . . Christmas books. Lots and lots of Christmas books. 

At the moment, we have two large wooden bins in the store to fit all of your Christmas needs. There are picture books for the kids, old sheet music for decorating, antique cards, and small, vintage volumes of lesser-known holiday stories (like Washington Irving's Old Christmas). There are also two lonely copies of Happening Hanukkah, a children's book of crafts and games. (Alas! I wanted to do at least one Hanukkah entry, but this is all that we have in stock. Sorry to disappoint, Jewish readers.) 


Among the items you can find in these festive bins are:


1. Two hardcover, jacketed first printings of Charles M. Schulz's A Charlie Brown Christmas.

2. A somewhat psychedelic-looking, Art Deco copy of Is There A Santa Claus? Some of you may not know the story behind this item, so here's a brief summary. In 1897, a little girl wrote an editorial to The Sun, a now-defunct New York newspaper, asking whether Santa Claus existed, as some of her friends had recently placed doubt in her mind. Editor Francis Pharcellus Church (a former Civil War war correspondent!) penned a touching and now famous response, assuring her that her "little friends" were wrong. Without faith in Santa Claus, he said, "[t]here would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence."

3. A hardcover, jacketed copy of A Visit from St. Nicholas (Twas The Night Before Christmas) by Clement M. Moore. Contains Moore's original text and accompanying annotations, a history of the poem, a reproduction of a copy hand-written by Moore, and a certificate of authenticity from the publisher. 

4. Vintage Christmas cards, most from 1910-1930, all priced at $1 or $2. They're great re-purposed as new Christmas cards or used as accents for a scrapbook. Here are a couple (one with its original envelope). 

Please keep in mind, too, that this is only a small sample of what we have right now. There are several copies of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, three $4 copies of A Christmas Carol, books of Christmas carols, and vintage Christmas postcards galore (located in a box beneath one of the wooden bins).


Come in and stock up for the season!

Title: A Charlie Brown Christmas (adapted from a Bill Melendez production)

Publisher: The World Publishing Company

Year: 1965

Features: First Edition, Dust Jacket

Condition: Very Good-

Price: $25

Title: Is There A Santa Claus: A Great Editor's Answer to A Little Girl's Question

Publisher: Buckbee-Brehm Co.

Year: 1927

Features: Hardcover

Condition: Good+

Price: $15

Title: A Visit from St. Nicholas (Twas The Night Before Christmas)

Publisher: International Resourcing Services, Inc. 

Year: 1997

Features: Hardcover, Dust Jacket

Condition: Very Good

Price: $4