I was at my old haunt, Rodney's bookstore in Central Square, sneaking around worn wooden bookshelves when I happened upon this little treasure! The Campfire Girls was a series for girls (and boys!) published during the early 1900's. I snapped it up and hugged it and bought it and scanned it (CAREFULLY!) This particular installment, At Work, was written by "Helen Hart" (pen name of Samuel Lowe ?!) and illustrated by the classical Violet Moore Higgins.
Stories starring girls always feel special to me, having enjoyed girls series so much while growing up with sisters, and now having created art for The Sleepover Squad series. (Check out Lovelace's Betsy-Tacy and Tib). Higgins' work is ornate and her girls hint a bit at their flapper underpinnings. It's fascinating to see an antique version of our standard chapter book format with black and white interiors reaching all the way back from 1920 to my hands in 2009. It felt very magical to be at the end of that tradition. Look! The waving hankie and all!
The extra treat in used books is the inscription, library cards, or owners' names written in wobbly crayon. I love that this teacher is awarding Myron for second prize... and look at that penmanship!
One last little beauty accompanied by the caption, "We have to think of a way to make Sonia understand!" Just look at those cheeky bobbed haircuts.♥
