Story-Tell Lib by Annie Trumbull Slosson (Ex-Library Copy), 1926 📜🇺🇸📚

This volume of Story-Tell Lib by Annie Trumbull Slosson is a top-shelf documentary artifact of American regional reading history.

The book is an authenticated later printing from the renowned publisher Charles Scribner’s Sons. It is distinguished by its extensive, verifiable institutional history from the Oakley Public Library, Oakley, Kansas.

This copy's value is secured by the non-replicable chain of institutional ownership and its function as a tangible record of late 20th-century library practice in the American Midwest.

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨ The book is a collection of short stories categorized as local color fiction, a style celebrated for its faithful depiction of regional American life. The volume's title story, Story-Tell Lib, continues the pastoral, reflective style of Slosson's earlier works, such as the widely popular Fishin' Jimmy.

The narrative provides simple, wholesome stories intended to evoke a sense of pastoral tradition and moral clarity. The book is bound in publisher’s tan cloth and features a simple, classic design consistent with Scribner's literary reprints of the era. The true substance of this specific copy lies in the historical metadata contained in its interior markings, connecting it directly to a regional American library.

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️ Annie Trumbull Slosson (1838–1926) was an American writer and one of the last major practitioners of the local color school of literature. Her fiction was characterized by its sympathetic portrayal of rural New England life, focusing heavily on dialect and distinct regional characters.

Slosson’s writing was enormously popular at the turn of the 20th century, offering readers a comforting alternative to the harsh realities often depicted in literary realism. This book, printed posthumously, confirms her enduring popularity long after her death, a testimony to the wide appeal of her gentle, regionalist narratives. The original publisher, Charles Scribner’s Sons, was one of the foremost literary publishing houses in America, further cementing the book’s institutional importance.

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜 The novel was originally copyrighted in 1900, placing it in the Gilded Age, a period of immense industrialization and social change in America. Slosson’s local color writing was an intentional reaction against this rapid modernization, offering readers a nostalgic, idealized view of pre-industrial American life.

The printing of this edition in 1926 positions the physical book in the heart of the Jazz Age and the height of American literary modernism. Yet, its distribution into a library in Oakley, Kansas, highlights the enduring, decades-long demand for traditional, established American classics in regional institutions. The book functions as a tangible record of the literary preferences and enduring cultural geography of the American Midwest in the mid-20th century.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️ This volume is an essential acquisition for a curator of Americana and American Library History.

It is ideally suited for a collector who specializes in documented institutional copies from the American Midwest and seeks pieces with specific regional ties. The presence of the Oakley Public Library, Kansas, mark transforms this common volume into a highly specific artifact of local social history, belonging in a collection that prioritizes verifiable historical narrative above bibliographical scarcity.

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️ This book is approximately 99 years old, having survived a century of circulation and institutional use.

Its scarcity is low as a later trade reprint. The monetary value is sustained entirely by its Provenance Premium. The extensive internal markings from the Oakley Public Library—including the Oct. 26, 1990 checkout date—provide a non-replicable chain of institutional history. This specific documentation elevates the volume from a general used book to a verifiable artifact of Kansas reading culture, commanding a premium from collectors who prioritize traceable narrative.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨ The physical condition has been assessed directly from the provided high-resolution photography. The book is deemed to be in Good Antique Condition, with wear consistent with its long history of institutional use.

• Binding: Bound in original publisher's tan cloth.

• Text Block: The text block is secure with minimal foxing.

• Markings: Features the Ex-Libris stamp of the Oakley Public Library, Kansas, on the contents page.

• Inscriptions: Includes handwritten Dewey Decimal numbers and an institutional discard number on the front endpaper.

• Wear: The cloth binding shows typical rubbing, fading, and darkening along the spine and edges consistent with its long institutional history.

• Library Ephemera: The original library card pocket remains on the inside cover, complete with a handwritten date.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

• The Local Color Movement: Annie Trumbull Slosson was a key figure in this literary movement, which documented the unique dialects and customs of specific American regions before they were homogenized by industrialization.

• The Dual Career: Slosson was not only a celebrated writer but also a distinguished professional entomologist, specializing in insects found in Florida and New Hampshire.

• The Dewey Decimal Record: The handwritten Dewey Decimal call number (808.83) indicates the library cataloged this volume under collections of short fiction, providing insight into the library’s specific classification practices.

• The Dated Use: The handwritten date "October 26, 1990" inside the original card jacket is a direct record of the last documented checkout or processing date for this volume, grounding the book in a precise moment in late 20th-century history.

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

• Object Type: Antique Short Story Collection (Ex-Library Copy)

• Author: Annie Trumbull Slosson

• Title: Story-Tell Lib

• Year/Period: 1926 (Later Printing)

• Publisher: Charles Scribner’s Sons

• Place of Origin: New York

• Format/Binding: Publisher’s Tan Cloth

• Edition/Rarity: Later Printing, Documentary Artifact

• Transcription of Markings (Key):

  • Title Page: Copyright, 1900, by CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS

  • Library Stamp: Oakley Public Library, Oakley, Kansas

  • Handwritten Inscriptions: 808.83 S634T / Oct. 26, 1990 / $10.00