Ockenden, L. C[urtis].; Maben, Otis [Illus.] ~ Mr Bumbletoes of Bimbleton

The First UK printing : Odhams Press Ltd., London : 1948

The First UK printing published by Odhams Press Ltd., London in 1948. Large 8vo., pale blue publisher's cloth, decorated with green 'Town Hall' device to upper board; lettered in black to the spine; illustrated endpapers; together in the pictorial wrapper (unclipped, though with price now erased from the lower front flap); colourful frontis and a further eight full page, full colour illustrations by Otis Maben, as well as over 100 black and white illustrations throughout the text; The BOOK slightly worn at the lower edges, worn down to boards at the lower edge and in small patches along the fore-edge of the upper board; otherwise clean and bright, with very light spotting to the outer edge of the text block and endpapers; The WRAPPER similarly edge-worn, with loss to lower edge and front fold; very lightly sunned to the spine with nicks and some losses to the spine ends; and a little light spotting to the flaps; unrestored, internally, with one small blue biro line to the upper edge of verso. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. A wonderful children's tale featuring the titular protagonist of Mr Bumbletoes, a character who had already appeared in early independent short stories. This, however, represents the first full-length book about the fictional town of Bimbleton and its inhabitants, and sees Mr Bumbletoes in a grand series of adventures with other jovial characters including Dr. Tweedlecup, Lady Featherstone and the Sleepy Lions, all of whom are pictured on the endpapers. Exploits include a description of what happened when the circus came to town, ghosts who haunt the village, the visit of Sapiento and his donkey, and much more. Both L. Curtis Ockenden and Otis Maben were popular children's writers and illustrators of the period, but have now faded into obscurity. A cheap war-time production and despite the description, this remains a very nice example of a book seldom found in such condition.

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Very Good
JACKET: Very Good