Father Goose His Book. Pictures by Wm. W. Denslow
- Chicago: Geo. M Hill, 1899
Chicago: Geo. M Hill, 1899. First Edition. First printing. Quarto (28cm). Original pictorial gray paper-covered boards; unpaginated [54 leaves, including front blank]. Typical rubbing and soil to covers, occasional mild thumb-soil to text margins, but still a tight, complete, Very Good copy free of restoration. First printing per Bienvenue, with no printed text on copyright page, etc. Verso of final leaf credits Ralph Fletcher Seymour for the hand-lettered text. Ink gift inscription to front blank ("To Joseph Thorne from Miss Dunlap"), dated 1922.
Father Goose was the first full-length collaboration between Baum and illustrator W.W. Denslow, who would go on to illustrate all of the Oz books during Baum's lifetime (Denslow had provided two illustrations to Baum's self-published book of poetry, The Candelabra's Glare, in 1898). The initial printing, completed at the end of September, 1899, was 5700 copies and quickly sold out, as the book became one of the surprise hits of the season, eventually selling more than a hundred thousand copies. There appeared, in rapid succession, six printings of between 10,000 and 30,000 copies each in each of the three months following the initial publication, and of course these secondary printings are the most often-encountered examples. An important title in Baum's non-Oz oeuvre, the first printing is exceedingly hard-to-find and especially uncommon in unrestored condition. Lacking the very scarce dustwrapper; housed in a custom cloth clamshell box. BIENVENUE & SCHMIDT p.169.
Father Goose was the first full-length collaboration between Baum and illustrator W.W. Denslow, who would go on to illustrate all of the Oz books during Baum's lifetime (Denslow had provided two illustrations to Baum's self-published book of poetry, The Candelabra's Glare, in 1898). The initial printing, completed at the end of September, 1899, was 5700 copies and quickly sold out, as the book became one of the surprise hits of the season, eventually selling more than a hundred thousand copies. There appeared, in rapid succession, six printings of between 10,000 and 30,000 copies each in each of the three months following the initial publication, and of course these secondary printings are the most often-encountered examples. An important title in Baum's non-Oz oeuvre, the first printing is exceedingly hard-to-find and especially uncommon in unrestored condition. Lacking the very scarce dustwrapper; housed in a custom cloth clamshell box. BIENVENUE & SCHMIDT p.169.