Tibbits Mabel (1 results)

Condition: Very good. First Edition. Beautiful and shameless early imitation of THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ (1900), copying that book's success in both plot and format. From the "wise witch trope," to the single-color illustrations that bleed into the text from the margins, to the prairie setting (but in South Dakota), to the typeface used in sectional titles, to the prominence of the letter "Z," ZAUBERLINDA is an audacious doppleganger of L. Frank Baum's fantasy. The heroine Annie visits fairies via a fall into a creek, and has a cat instead of a dog, but these differences were meant to fool no one and surely did not. The pictorial cloth cover design is perhaps where the book is most original, and certainly at its most striking. A fascinating turn-of-the-century artifact of children's publishing. 8.25'' x 6.25''. Original blue pictorial cloth stamped in red and yellow. Illustrated by Tibbetts in various colors printed monochrome to each spread: orange, yellow, green, red, blue, grey, brown, and lavender. 256 pages. Tear with notable loss (affecting corner of illustration) to pages 15/16. Some sunning to spine and light wear to spine ends. Else clean and tight with firm hinges.