Elena Lindsey Falke

Three vernacular copies of Hippity Hop and Betsy Bunny

[Sidney, OH]: ca. 1940s. Very Good +. Item #50213

[Sidney, OH]: ca. 1940s. Three vernacular quartos of the same story, all hand sewn and bound in decorative painted paper, two with cut and pasted rabbits to front cover (29x21cm; 30x21cm; 30.5x23cm); all interior artwork appears hand-drawn in pencil but two have typed text, one overwritten in pen, while the largest is handwritten in blue ink and includes colored-in illustrations; 25pp; 23pp; 20pp. Each generally rubbed and worn at edges and corners with minor exposure to the largest's spine head and a split to the spine of the red covered copy. Pages toned as expected with mild rubbing from pencil to facing pages in each and a few small closed tears to margins, otherwise, all Very Good or better.

Elena Falke of Sidney, Ohio likely produced these books for her three sons sometime in the 1940s. The author was an upstanding member of the community, participating in the Mutual Improvement Club who met and hosted contests, readings, piano recitals, and other gatherings for the ladies of the club and their daughters, detailed in the Shelby County Democrat. Elena often did readings of her own work for these meetings and sometimes won the contests the club held, though what she won was never recorded.

While each book has the same text, the illustrations vary. The story follows the "long earred [sic] rabbits, who live a life of luxury and ease" named Hippity Hop and Betsy Bunny who fall in love (after Hippity cleans himself up a little) and have a little family who sing and dance and have an old crow friend. Perhaps some encouragement for her three boys to keep up on their hygiene and be nice to girls.

Price: $500.00

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