Midnight Revels

San Francisco: Sunset Press, 1939. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. Kraemer, Xavier. Octavo size, 85 pp., signed by Xavier Kraemer. A delightful fairy story told in poem form, of a dream wherein dolls come alive and dance and celebrate - until the dawn when the "dream" ends - the dream that the little girl "still thinks 'tis true and wasn't a dream". Both the author and illustrator are somewhat elusive; we were unable to find much information on the author.

The illustrator, Xavier Kraemer, was born in Alsace-Lorraine on Jan. 22, 1872; by 1916 Kraemer had a home in Alameda and a studio in San Francisco. He died in Alameda, CA on July 21, 1956 (info from "Artists in California 1786-1940" by Edan Hughes).

___DESCRIPTION: Sky blue cloth boards with navy blue lettering and a small vignette of a doll reading a book astride a clock face, decorative endpapers of the dolls and fairies in the story frolicking, signature of illustrator on the dedication page ("Dedicated to Dreamers"), title page surrounded by vignettes of the dolls and fairies, each page of the poem story contains a black and white illustration, there are approximately 11 full-page illustrations throughout. The dust jacket is of tan rag paper with a replica of the title page in navy blue on the front panel. 8 vo, (i-viii), 1-77.

___CONDITION: Volume would be fine other than some bumping to the bottom corners; it has a strong, square text block, solid hinges, and the interior is clean and bright; the only prior owner markings we could see is the name and gift inscription in the absolute neatest hand we have ever seen. There is also some slight toning to the decorative endpapers. The dust jacket is very good with only minor edgewear on the front panel, the blue lettering on the front bright, not clipped (although no price printed); however, the back panel is a bit rougher with a chip and a closed tear along with considerable wear at the top.

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply, please contact seller for details.

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