The Desert Daisy

No. 300 of 1,413 numbered copies reserved for members of Beta Phi Mu. Original publisher's black cloth binding with gilt lettering on front cover and spine. 6 1/2" x 9." Partially unpaginated, c. 120 pages (Introduction is nineteen pages; the facsimile of The Desert Daisy is about 101 pages), complete. Many black-and-white illustrations, complete. Pages are virtually pristine and intact except for light age toning. Covers are very clean and intact except for light rubbing and very slight wear to extremities. Corners are sharp and not bumped. Binding is tight. A Fine copy. A charming facsimile reproduction of The Desert Daisy, the earliest known surviving narrative authored by H. G. Wells (1866-1946). The Desert Daisy was composed by Wells sometime between 1878 and 1889 when he was either 12 or 13 years old. The Desert Daisy is a precursor to present-day comic books and features a humorous story originally handwritten in cursive by Wells that is accompanied by equally comedic illustrations drawn by Wells. In his Introduction, Gordon N. Ray briefly describes the early years of Wells's childhood and gives some background information on The Desert Daisy. The Introduction is followed by the facsimile reproduction of The Desert Daisy which comprises black-and-white scans of Wells's original manuscript housed in the University of Illinois Library. This book is the third in a series of chapbooks by Beta Phi Mu. Back colophon ("No. 300" is handwritten in black ink; the rest of the text is printed in black ink): "No. 300; This book, including the facsimile reproductions, was manufactured by the photofact offset process by The Lakeside Press, R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company, Chicago, Illinois and Crawfordsville, Indiana. Text type face is monotype Baskerville and the text paper is 25 x 38--70# Bethany Book. 1,413 numbered copies fo this book are reserved for the members of Beta Phi Mu. An additional 3,000 copies have been made for general distribution. This manuscript is reproduced with the permission of the Executors of H. G. Wells.".…