Description: Up for sale is a presumed first edition, with the original dust jacket, of an excellently written and illustrated children's book. It is set in the desert of the American southwest. Title: Elf Owl Author: Mary and Conrad Buff Illustrator: Conrad Buff Publisher: The Viking Press (New York) Printer: Affiliated Lithographers (U.S.A.) Copyright: 1958, by the authors. [Not explicitly stated, but this is the presumed first edition. According to the website of "qbbooks", which has a guide to first editions, by publisher, The Viking Press did not use the words "first edition". The notations on the copyright page of this book (see photo # 5) are consistent with how the publisher designated its first editions.] Hardback book with a dust jacketAbout 10.25 inches tall about 7.0 inches wide.Pages: 72 The married team of Conrad and Mary Buff published about 14 successful children's books between 1937 and 1968. Conrad Buff II (1886 - 1975) was born in Switzerland and attended art school there as a teenager. He emigrated to the US in 1904 eventually reaching the West Coast while holding a series of varied manual labor jobs. He resumed his art training at the Art Students League of Los Angeles between 1910 and 1913 and developed a highly individual style of painting landscapes using a cross-hatching technique combined with a pointillist style. During the 1920s and 1930s, he painted a series of murals for commercial buildings. One of his commissions was for the First National Bank in Phoenix, Arizona. (Elf Owl is likely set in the Arizona desert.) Mary (Marsh) Buff (1890 - 1970) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and at the Cincinnati Art Academy, before receiving her undergraduate degree at Bethany College in Kansas. She taught school in Montana and Idaho before moving to the Los Angeles area. In the early 1920s, she was assistant curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which is possibly how she met Conrad. They married in 1922. Mary's income was sufficient that Conrad could concentrate on art as his career. The Buffs were highly successful in the field of children's literature. Four of their books were runners-up for either a Newbery Medal or a Caldecott Medal. Please see above for complete description of condition and photos. (The dust jacket has some significant condition issues.) Sold as is. Attention US Buyers: I will ship by USPS Media Mail or by USPS Priority Mail, your choice. Please note that if you have a Military Mail address (e.g. APO), I must ask that you choose USPS Priority Mail as it is my understanding that USPS Media Mail is not reliable to Military Mail addresses. Attention International Buyers: I am exclusively using e-Bay International Shipping. If you win this auction, I will ship it to an e-Bay facility in the United States. e-Bay will be responsible for sending it to your international address. Please familiarize yourself with e-Bay International Shipping before bidding. Thank you.
Price: 13 USD
Location: Metairie, Louisiana
End Time: 2024-12-23T01:32:49.000Z
Shipping Cost: 5.88 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Year Printed: 1958
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Topic: Nature and desert life
Binding: Hardcover
Illustrator: Conrad Buff
Author: Mary & Conrad Buff
Subject: Children's literature
Original/Facsimile: Original
Language: English
Publisher: The Viking Press
Place of Publication: New York
Special Attributes: 1st Edition, Dust Jacket
