Description
Here is a first edition of The Patchwork Girl of Oz published by Reilly & Britton in 1913 with unusual endpapers–instead of the usual ones with the Scarecrow and Tinman riding the Cowardly Lion and Hungry Tiger, those of Montgomery and Stone, characters in the 1902 stageplay, and inserted on top of the others. This variant is discussed in a Note on p. 52 of the Book Collectors Guide to Baum; the endpapers were more commonly used in the 5th printing of The Marvelous Land of Oz (ca 1917). So there must have been a little mix-up, or possibly Written by L. Frank Baum, the book is a first edition, first printing, with “Reilly & Britton” on the spine, but a 2nd state of the first edn, first printing, because it doesn’t have the “C” on page 35 overlapping the text. A little confusing, but there you have it. Light tan binding, with many, many color illustrations throughout the text.
This copy is in only fair condition–mostly because of obvious soiling of both covers and spine as shown. Inside, the odd endpapers are in nice condition, though the front one is split about 1/2″ at base, and there is a little dark staining of that spot on the first few pages. There is an owner’s stamp on the Book Belongs to page. The binding is tight but the middle gathering is slightly displaced to the outside of the rest of the block. The pages are generally clean with a few spots here and there. So, not the prettiest copy, but worth having for the completist collector! A better copy sold for $570 at auction in 2017: https://www.pbagalleries.com/view-auctions/catalog/id/427/lot/135747/
