Description
Here is a 1st edition of Sam Steele’s Adventures on Land and Sea, one of the rarest of L. Frank Baum’s fiction titles for children. Written by Baum under the pseudonym Captain Hugh Fitzgerald, this was published by Reilly & Britton in 1906. This is the 1st edition, 1st printing with the red cloth cover (Binding B, with Reilly & Britton in capital letters on the spine). Also with not just a frontispiece, but five beautiful inserted color plates. In 1908 R&B repackaged this title as “The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska” under a new pseudonym, Floyd Akers. Go figure. Boy Fortune Hunters titles are scarce, Sam Steele’s even more so.
This is a nice copy, in very good condition overall. All five color plates (as called for) are present and in beautiful shape. The front, spine and rear cover look very good, with a little age toning to the spine. Inside, the front hinge looks to have been repaired a little messily, while the rear hinge is intact with a tiny tear. Front endpaper has a pencil name; no other writing. Light wrinkling to last couple pages. Text block edges are clean. A very hard to find Baum 1st in any condition, with no other firsts available online at the time of listing.
