The Baronet Rag-Picker

Boston: C.M. Clark Publishing Company, 1905 Hard cover, in dark green publisher's cloth with pictorial design in yellow, light green and black, 261 pp plus 13 pp. publisher's adverts. The color frontispiece and nine black and white illustrations by C.H. Richert and Griswold Tyng. A "Story of Love and Adventure," set in a small Cornish fishing village, replete with shipwreck, a hidden identity and baronial estates. **The publisher, C.M. Clark, was noteworthy at the time as the only known female book publisher. Miss Carro Morrell Clark (1867-1950) kept her maiden name professionally, beginning her career as a bookkeeper and later dry-goods merchant. A head for business, and the willingness to do the hard work of bringing wares into stores and setting them up, ensured her success. Her profile is found in several newspapers of the early 1900's, including this item from the Daily Press of Newport News, VA, Aug. 11, 1907: "I had little money of my own and decided to go in for book publishing. Several persons pointed out that the calling was overcrowded and large capital was needed, while the business was such an intricate one that it required a man's hand to succeed…I opened a small office in Boston, my native town, and then went around to several friends and persons whom I knew could write me something publishable. In less than five months I had launched on the market two novels, eighteen story books for children, a medical book for the home as well as a popular book on dressmaking…" Condition: Very Good, with a few small paint splatters, very minor rubbing at corners and a small dent to rear board. Otherwise, it is mostly very clean, unmarked, unfoxed, and firm and bright within. Hubin 91.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good .