L. Frank Baum's Santa Claus book could be a rare find
By ALYCE HAND BENHAM For The Press
Published: Friday, August 11, 2006
Question: I am enclosing pictures of a book titled “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” by L. Frank Baum. The book was given to my great-grandmother when she was a little girl and my aunt insists that it is a valuable first edition. The book was illustrated by Mary Cowles Clark and published by The Bowen-Merrill Co. in 1902. I would like to know if we own a first edition of the book. — P.G., LongportAnswer: Two years after author Lyman Frank Baum's popular “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” was published, his “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” was released and copies of the Christmas fable were given as holiday gifts to delighted children. The adventures of baby Claus were recorded from his abandonment as an infant in a magical forest through childhood protected by fairies to adulthood in which his special mission is the happiness of children.First edition copies of your great-grandmother's book wear price tags that range from $175 to $10,000. Serious collectors look for books in very good to excellent condition that are first edition, first state (also known as first issue or first printing) with 206 pages. First edition, first state copies of the book have a bright red pictorial cloth binding stamped in bold green, black and white that shows Santa starting his climb down a chimney. Illustrations include a colored title page and 19 full and two-color plates by artist Mary Cowles Clark. The inside of front and back covers and corresponding end pages are illustrated with a color panorama of Santa in his sleigh being pulled by 10 (not eight) reindeer.The first edition, first state book is divided into three parts; “Book First,” “Book Second” and “Book Third” while the same sections are titled “Youth,” “Manhood” and “Old Age” in subsequent printings. Also, the first printing does not have a frontispiece or the marginal page decorations that appear in later issues.
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As with other collectible antique books, an original dust jacket adds value while water damage; foxing; damaged binding and end papers; chipped, torn or loose pages; faded or missing illustrations; hand and dust soil; crayon and pencil marks; and evidence of silverfish are unfavorable factors. Gift inscriptions, usually considered harmful to book values, are often acceptable when linked to a Christmas presentation of your book. Baum's signed inscriptions, which are rare, can send values of his books soaring to a five-figure level.
Using the above guidelines, you should be able to determine if great-grandmother's book is a first edition, first state copy of “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.” Such a book, when in good to very good condition, is valued at $400 to $700, based on flaws that may be present. Sub-sequent issues of the first edition are tagged from $175 to $350.
Question: Enclosed is a photograph of a 5-inch, footed silver bowl with scalloped edge marked, “Sterling, plata 925, Taxco, Hecho en Mexico” and an approximate drawing of the hallmark that appears on it. I would like information about the bowl. — J.S., Cape May Court House
Answer: Your photo shows a sterling silver scalloped bowl, known as a spoon bowl, with mirror finish. The logo you have drawn, a conjoined A and V, markedly resembles the stamp of Alfredo Villasana, a Taxco designer who worked for renowned silversmith, William Spratling, and Hector Aguilar. Villasana's popular silver jewelry and decorative ware were purchased by folks who visited Mexico and by customers of high-end stores that included Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman-Marcus and Bonwit Teller.
You did not note that your bowl bears the Mexican assay eagle stamp, which was introduced in 1948. Absence of the assay mark is a characteristic of many bowls like yours that were made from 1931 to 1946 and presently sell for $125 to $150.
Alyce Hand Benham is an antiques broker, appraiser and estate liquidation specialist. Send questions to: Alyce Benham, Features/Life section, The Press of Atlantic City, 11 Devins Lane, Pleasantville 08232. Letters may be used in future columns but cannot be answered individually, and photos cannot be returned.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/life/story/6623968p-6472767c.html
Published: Friday, August 11, 2006
Question: I am enclosing pictures of a book titled “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” by L. Frank Baum. The book was given to my great-grandmother when she was a little girl and my aunt insists that it is a valuable first edition. The book was illustrated by Mary Cowles Clark and published by The Bowen-Merrill Co. in 1902. I would like to know if we own a first edition of the book. — P.G., LongportAnswer: Two years after author Lyman Frank Baum's popular “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” was published, his “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” was released and copies of the Christmas fable were given as holiday gifts to delighted children. The adventures of baby Claus were recorded from his abandonment as an infant in a magical forest through childhood protected by fairies to adulthood in which his special mission is the happiness of children.First edition copies of your great-grandmother's book wear price tags that range from $175 to $10,000. Serious collectors look for books in very good to excellent condition that are first edition, first state (also known as first issue or first printing) with 206 pages. First edition, first state copies of the book have a bright red pictorial cloth binding stamped in bold green, black and white that shows Santa starting his climb down a chimney. Illustrations include a colored title page and 19 full and two-color plates by artist Mary Cowles Clark. The inside of front and back covers and corresponding end pages are illustrated with a color panorama of Santa in his sleigh being pulled by 10 (not eight) reindeer.The first edition, first state book is divided into three parts; “Book First,” “Book Second” and “Book Third” while the same sections are titled “Youth,” “Manhood” and “Old Age” in subsequent printings. Also, the first printing does not have a frontispiece or the marginal page decorations that appear in later issues.
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As with other collectible antique books, an original dust jacket adds value while water damage; foxing; damaged binding and end papers; chipped, torn or loose pages; faded or missing illustrations; hand and dust soil; crayon and pencil marks; and evidence of silverfish are unfavorable factors. Gift inscriptions, usually considered harmful to book values, are often acceptable when linked to a Christmas presentation of your book. Baum's signed inscriptions, which are rare, can send values of his books soaring to a five-figure level.
Using the above guidelines, you should be able to determine if great-grandmother's book is a first edition, first state copy of “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.” Such a book, when in good to very good condition, is valued at $400 to $700, based on flaws that may be present. Sub-sequent issues of the first edition are tagged from $175 to $350.
Question: Enclosed is a photograph of a 5-inch, footed silver bowl with scalloped edge marked, “Sterling, plata 925, Taxco, Hecho en Mexico” and an approximate drawing of the hallmark that appears on it. I would like information about the bowl. — J.S., Cape May Court House
Answer: Your photo shows a sterling silver scalloped bowl, known as a spoon bowl, with mirror finish. The logo you have drawn, a conjoined A and V, markedly resembles the stamp of Alfredo Villasana, a Taxco designer who worked for renowned silversmith, William Spratling, and Hector Aguilar. Villasana's popular silver jewelry and decorative ware were purchased by folks who visited Mexico and by customers of high-end stores that included Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman-Marcus and Bonwit Teller.
You did not note that your bowl bears the Mexican assay eagle stamp, which was introduced in 1948. Absence of the assay mark is a characteristic of many bowls like yours that were made from 1931 to 1946 and presently sell for $125 to $150.
Alyce Hand Benham is an antiques broker, appraiser and estate liquidation specialist. Send questions to: Alyce Benham, Features/Life section, The Press of Atlantic City, 11 Devins Lane, Pleasantville 08232. Letters may be used in future columns but cannot be answered individually, and photos cannot be returned.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/life/story/6623968p-6472767c.html
