THE RADIUM BOOK - William Rose, RARE "HOLD TO THE LIGHT FANTASY" 2nd Ed. 1905

  THE RADIUM BOOK by William Rose and Illustrated by Harry Hohnhorst ~ "HOLD TO THE LIGHT FANTASY" ~ 2nd Edition 1905 ~ FIRST "Glow in the Dark" Book — Exceedingly Scarce!

 Publisher: Rose Publishing Co. Cleveland (1905)

Exceedingly scarce, THE RADIUM BOOK by William Rose and illustrated by Harry Hohnhorst, from 1905. We have only seen the very rare copy of this lovely book for sale in the range of $1K (one, to date). Beautifully illustrated. The child is instructed: "Hold the full page Radium pictures in the light for a few seconds and then look at them in the dark." The story told in rhyme is the "OZ"-like fantasy taken by little Dorothy who wants excitement like the girls in her books. She travels to the Land of Noo, where she meets Ace and strange creatures like the Jellymagog. Wonderfully illustrated with exceptionally bright images. The boards and binding are solid and tight with shelf-wear. The pages are crisp and clean save for some dirt smudges to the corners of a few pages, and moisture stain sticking the last blank page to the back inside board. Due to the book's age of 112 years, it no longer appears to glow in the dark — the material used to coat the pages may have dissipated (which is healthier for the end user, in this case!).