Here is one of Reilly & Britton's special publications - the
Christmas Stocking Series, packed in a cardboard Christmas trunk! This is a rather delicate item that doesn't turn up very often - especially with its lid! The books in the trunk are traditional titles such as
Fairy Tales from Grimm, Fairy Tales from Anderson, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and
The Night Before Christmas. But in this package we also find the much more recent stories of
Little Black Sambo and
Peter Rabbit - a pair of American piracies of newer English tales.
These
six books have a rather tenuous connection to Baum - he contributed a preface
with the history of the Christmas Stocking, used in each volume. The series was first published in 1905, and they seem to have been
popular little books as they went through several printing states and styles of packaging. They were still being published when Reilly & Britton became Reilly & Lee in 1919.
The
cardboard trunk is a whimsical addition, with its various labels for
the Jack Frost Transfer Co. and Hollywreath Inn, etc. This particular set is from ca. 1913 when the trunk first appeared. When first printed, the books were available in a special little
bookcase. Personally, I prefer the trunk!
These
six books have a rather tenuous connection to Baum - he contributed a preface
with the history of the Christmas Stocking, used in each volume. The series was first published in 1905, and they seem to have been
popular little books as they went through several printing states and styles of packaging. They were still being published when Reilly & Britton became Reilly & Lee in 1919.
The
cardboard trunk is a whimsical addition, with its various labels for
the Jack Frost Transfer Co. and Hollywreath Inn, etc. This particular set is from ca. 1913 when the trunk first appeared. When first printed, the books were available in a special little
bookcase. Personally, I prefer the trunk!
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1 comment:
The trunk is adorable! I never read the labels on it, very cute.
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