The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum by Thornton W. Burgess (1922 Bedtime Story-Book Reprint) - Early Gift Inscription 🐾🦉📜

This volume is an authenticated 1922 printing of The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum, a beloved children's book by Thornton W. Burgess, published by Little, Brown, and Company.

This book is a key title in the famous "Bedtime Story-Books" series, illustrated by the iconic Harrison Cady. Its primary market value is anchored by the Aesthetic Premium of its classic illustration and its function as a verifiable artifact of 1920s American domestic life.

The unique inscription from "Mother" to "Ellie May" elevates the volume's status to a personal historical document, appealing directly to the collector who values intimate, traceable family history.

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨

The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum is one of the early books in the Bedtime Story-Books series. The story follows Unc' Billy Possum, a charming but mischievous opossum, in his misadventures in the Green Forest and the Green Meadows. The central plot revolves around Unc' Billy's hankering for eggs, which leads him into the henhouse of Farmer Brown and subsequently into trouble, a common moral lesson in the Burgess stories.

The content is explicitly designed to teach children gentle lessons about wildlife and human virtues. The book contains delightful illustrations by Harrison Cady, a renowned artist whose visual style is inseparable from Burgess's characters. The List of Illustrations includes chapter-based events, such as "Reddy Fox sprang up as if some one had stuck a pin into him" and "Yo' tell Unc' Billy Possum that Ah don' care if he never comes back". The content page reveals a continuous narrative of animal interaction with titles like "Reddy Fox Thinks He Sees a Ghost" and "Bobby Coon Enters the Wrong House".

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️

Thornton Waldo Burgess (1874–1965) was an American author, naturalist, and dedicated conservationist. He is considered the friend of at least three generations of American children, having written over 170 books and 15,000 newspaper stories. Burgess began writing these "Bedtime Stories" to entertain his young son after his first wife's death, turning a personal necessity into a global literary phenomenon.

Burgess was a tireless advocate for the environment, using his stories to instill a love of nature, ecology, and respect for the natural world in children, often based on his own real-life observations. His work is forever linked with the visual genius of Harrison Cady (1877–1970), who illustrated most of the Bedtime Story-Books. Cady's detailed, anthropomorphic depictions of the animals perfectly captured the mood of Burgess's charming tales, creating an enduring and highly collectible artistic partnership.

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜

This book was published in 1922, a period of cultural transformation known as the Roaring Twenties. This era was characterized by increased industrialization and a rising standard of living, yet it also saw a growing interest in nature and the outdoors as a counterbalance to urban life.

Burgess’s stories were part of a larger literary movement that emphasized the moral education of children through gentle allegories about animal behavior. The books reinforced virtues like thrift, honesty, and diligence, which were core values of American society at the time. This volume serves as a powerful time capsule, documenting the literature that shaped the early moral and conservationist viewpoints of the generation growing up during the 1920s and 1930s.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️

This volume is tailored for a Curator of Early 20th-Century Children's Literature and a Scholar of American Conservationism. The Ideal Collector is a devotee of the works of Thornton W. Burgess and Harrison Cady, seeking a clean, authentic artifact from the Bedtime Story-Books series.

The book belongs in a collection that prioritizes personal history and the nostalgia of childhood reading, making the intimate gift inscription from "Mother" to "Ellie May" a key feature. This piece is a classic example of educational fantasy fiction, appealing to those who collect books that defined the early American childhood experience.

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️

This book is an authenticated reprint from 1922, making it 103 years old. As a volume from a massive publishing series, it is a common edition. The rarity lies in the scarce 1914 First Edition. This reprint status requires a mandatory deduction from the aspirational collector price.

The book's value is secured by the combination of its Aesthetic Premium (the iconic Cady illustrations and clean cover) and the Ephemera Premium derived from the clear, personal "To Ellie May, from Mother" gift inscription. This documented personal history elevates the book beyond a simple reading copy, justifying a premium price over other common volumes.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨

This is a 1922 hardcover reprint lacking the original dust jacket. The book's condition is consistent with a well-loved antique children's book.

• Positive Qualities:

  • The pictorial cloth binding is intact and attractive, retaining the classic Harrison Cady cover art.

  • The handwritten gift inscription is clearly legible on the front flyleaf.

  • The illustrations and text pages are generally clean, with all plates intact.

• Imperfections:

  • The spine shows sunning and rubbing, with fraying to the cloth at the head and tail.

  • The boards and corners exhibit moderate shelf wear and rubbing.

  • The absence of the original dust jacket triggers a mandatory deduction from the full collectible price.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

• The name Peter Cottontail, used in the book's series title, was a character originally created by British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter, leading Burgess to note that Cady's help made Peter a true character.

• Burgess was such a popular figure that he hosted a nationally syndicated radio program where he was affectionately known as the "Bedtime Story-Man," reading his tales to children across the country.

• This book is part of the "Burgess Trade Quaddies Mark" series, a key detail for series collectors who seek a uniform set.

• The personal inscription "To Ellie May, from Mother" provides a tangible, intimate link to the book's long domestic history, confirming its journey as a gift.

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

• Title: The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum: The Bedtime Story-Books

• Author: Thornton W. Burgess

• Illustrator: Harrison Cady

• Year of Publication: 1922 (Printing Date)

• Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company

• Place of Origin: Boston, Printed in USA

• Format/Binding: Hardcover, Pictorial Cloth Boards

• Edition: Reprint Printing (Original Copyright 1914)

• Rarity: Common Edition, Unique Personal History

• Verbatim Transcription of Inscription/Marking:

  • Gift Inscription (Handwritten): "To Ellie May, from Mother".

  • Price/Inventory Notation: "DLR 173" and "$7.00".