Description
Here is a hard to find copy of the 1st edition/1st printing of The Boy Fortune Hunters in Panama, by L Frank Baum. The Wizard of Oz author here is writing under a pseudonym, Floyd Akers. Published by Reilly & Britton in 1908, this has all the 1st printing points in the Book Collector’s Guide to Baum by Bienvenue and Schmidt (p. 283). What makes this printing so desirable is that unlike the others of the Boy Fortune Hunter’s series, this book contains not just one black and white frontis, but FIVE plates in eye-popping colors by Howard Heath. Shortly after this printing was issued, the publisher cut costs by switching to just one B&W frontispiece for this book. Also with original Michigan sales slip for prior price of $395 laid in.
This book is in good but not very good condition overall. The white and cream embellishments on the front cover are mostly intact, with a little bit of loss near the center, and the spine has scuffing and darkening, and light wear to cloth at ends. Inside, the hinges are intact and there is a 1908 ink inscription, as well as an old bookseller’s pencil price, on the front endpaper. The 5 color plates (as issued) are present with some staining and wear, and the pages also have some staining on and off as shown. Still a decent copy of one of the hardest to find in the series for the serious collector of children’s books and Oziana.
