L.M. Boston “The Fossil Snake” American First edition cloth wrapped children’s hardcover story book 1976 Peter Boston illustrations

"Wyatt Earp" by Philip Ketchum, published circa 1956 by Whitman Publishing Company.
Octavo, glossy coated pictorial wrap around boards, green tinted text block edges around, two color chapter headings along with two color full page illustrations, seemingly one per chapter by Robert Doremus, 282 pages. This is an exceptional copy for one of these Whitman Books published at this time. I would grade it at "very good +" or better, which typically would not be that unusual, but for these books it is very much so. They were made very cheaply and were rather delicate. They did not fair well if exposed to the sun as the glossy coating would get brittle, discolor and lift. Typically also, the spines would crack and split. This book is wholly intact, the coating is complete, the spine nor hinges are not cracked, the text block closes tight and square, the tinted edges are relatively uniform in color, showing no signs of rubbing from use. There are four small surface scuffs to the edges on the bottom (see accompanying images). A hint of wear at the board corner tips and some slight chipping at the spine head and heel edges at the corners. A really, really nice example of a classic children's western published during the pinnacle of the Western in America! A wonderful time capsule. Will ship to you carefully packaged.