Ozzy Postcard

I just purchased this postcard, and have to admit I'm pretty thrilled with it. It dates from the early 20th century, during a period when postcards were at the height of their popularity, and in fact were a bit of a craze. This appears to be a family photo that was printed as a card, not a commercially produced postcard - I have some vintage family photos that were printed the same way. Here we have a very dapper boy clutching his pre-1919 copy of Ozma of Oz.

The boy is very smartly dressed, and appears to come from a fairly well-to-do family. In fact, he looks a lot like something from a Denslow or Neill illustration, particularly Nip from Neill's Nip & Tuck comic page. I especially like the fact that it's a boy with an Oz book rather than a girl.

It's impossible to tell exactly what printing of Ozma he's holding, but it's definitely a Reilly & Britton copy, as the cover changed to a paper label for the Reilly & Lee printings. Notice that the dust jacket is missing - of course!