Search Results: Humor from AARDWOLF Fine Books

Red Raven Corporation, Red Raven, PA, 1913; 12mo, 89 pages; First Edition, enlarged; illustrated cloth boards; untrimmed page edges; top edges gilt. A series of riotous tales relating the escapades of bon-vivant Billy Baxter, written in the form of letters addressed to an absent chum, identified only as "Jim." Authored by William J. Kountz, Jr., founder of Red Raven Corporation, manufacturers and bottlers of Billy Baxter carbonated sodas. The stories were first published individually in booklet form as a product promotion between 1888-1889 and made available to the public via post for the price of an envelope and the enclosure of four unused 1¢ postage stamps. (In an ad for the booklets, the author admonishes the public, "Do not lick the stamps and attach them to your letter of request, as at some future date we may need to use same, and the Government foolishly requires a whole stamp.") The booklets achieved such popularity that in less than a year’s time Kountz became a… Read More