The Rocket Book

Newell, Peter. THE ROCKET BOOK. New York: Harper & Brothers, [1912], (1912). FIRST EDITION; "Published October, 1912" on title-page verso. 8vo - 8-7/8" x 7-1/4". Blue cloth covered boards with large color pictorial paste-label applied to front cover with minute hints of rubbing at the corners for what is a near perfect copy of the book. Original publisher's pictorial paper DUST WRAPPER with age-tanned front panel and spine, a few small abrasions to back panel, lightly frayed edges, light soiling and a small repaired hole (a rocket hole?) measuring 7/16" x 7/16" to front panel for what is still a very attractive and quite wonderful example of the extremely rare original dust wrapper; back panel with pictorial advertisement for another one of Newell's novelty books, The Slant Book. Plain endpapers. [48] pp. Another one of Newell's novelty books in the same vein as The Hole Book. The story, which is told in verse, with text printed on versos, begins with Fritz, the Janitor's bad kid, firing off a rocket in the basement of his building; each text page with a full page color drawing on opposing recto for a total of twenty-two full page drawings by Newell; from the second illustration on, each page features a die-cut oval hole representing the rocket's path as it passes through the twenty floors of Fritz's building; the reader becomes witness to the destruction and general mayhem that Fritz's action sets into motion; internally the book is fine. The condition of the book is FINE. The condition of the dust wrapper is VERY GOOD -. SCARCE in such nice condition; RARE in the dust wrapper. # 000796

LAID-IN IS A HANDWRITTEN LETTER FROM NEWELL dated Aug. 8, 1901 inviting one Miss Wells to visit at his home on Aug. 10; the letter includes instructions on how to get to his house plus a diagram complete with landmarks; signed "Peter Newell".