Old & Rare
Author: Ernest Seton Thompson
Illustrator: Ernest Seton Thompson
SETON, Ernest Thompson. Rolf in the Woods. The Adventures of a Boy Scout with Indian Quonab and Little Dog Skookum. Over Two Hundred Drawings. Garden City, NY: Doubleday Page, 1911. 8vo, xvi 437pp. Light green cloth pictorially stamped in black and orange. 12 half-tone plates and numerous b&w illustrations. Spine ends lightly rubbed, 1/8” tear in cloth at base of front cover, spine a tad discolored, else an internally clean, bright copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (spine panel slightly sunned, tiny hole at top of “N” in title on spine panel).
First edition, secondary binding, bearing a lighter green cloth than the primary binding (possibly indicating a later bind-up of first printing sheets). When 15-year-old Rolf is orphaned and sent to live with his abusive aunt and uncle, he decides to run away. In the woods, he is adopted by a Native American and his trusty dog who teach him how to live off the land, hunt, gather and understand the ways of the wild. Both a fascinating adventure story and a guide to thriving in the outdoors, all stunningly illustrated by the acclaimed author, naturalist, wildlife illustrator, and founding pioneer of the Boy Scouts of America.