1896 Rare McLoughlin Bros Linen Edition – Little Red Riding Hood
Author: [Anonymous / Traditional].
Title: Little Red Riding Hood.
Publisher: New York, McLoughlin Bros., (1896).
Size: 7.5" x 5.5".
Pages: [12 pages, including covers].
Binding: Attractive, scarce and very good original publisher’s color pictorial linen wrappers (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing or staining - as shown).
Illustrations: Beautifully illustrated throughout with richly colored chromolithographs, including full-page scenes and smaller in-text illustrations. Printed on linen, ensuring durability for children’s use.
Estimate: (USD 150 – 250).
The book: A charming antique McLoughlin Bros. linen edition of Little Red Riding Hood, part of the publisher’s Red Riding Hood Series. Linen books, marketed for their durability and washable qualities, were a McLoughlin innovation at the turn of the 20th century, combining vibrant chromolithograph illustrations with resilient cloth pages. This copy retains its striking cover image of Little Red Riding Hood meeting the wolf in the forest, with additional full-page interior scenes dramatizing the well-loved fairy tale. A fine survival of an ephemeral format, offering both nostalgia and collectibility.
The author: The tale of Little Red Riding Hood is a classic European folktale, first popularized by Charles Perrault in 1697 and later by the Brothers Grimm. Its moral lessons—warning against naivety and the dangers of straying from the path—made it a perennial choice for children’s publishers in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The illustrator/publisher: McLoughlin Bros., based in New York, was the most influential American children’s book publisher of the late 19th century. They pioneered color printing in children’s books, issuing chapbooks, toy books, games, and linen editions that brought vivid imagery to young readers. Their linen books in particular were marketed as indestructible—a response to parents’ concerns about children damaging paper books. These books have become highly collectible for their bold chromolithographs and their role in democratizing illustrated literature for children.