copyright 1904, December; "with pictures by C.M. Relyea and Will Vawter"; The Bobbs-Merrill Company publishers, Indianapolis; smaller hardbound, 78 pages; original owner's names nicely scripted inside front; very good condition with unmarked pages and very nice drawings; gilt printing on front cover and spine is quite nice; no dust jacket.
 
description -
A Defective Santa Claus, describes one of the most beloved traditions of the modern Christmas celebration. The book reminds us of the joy children take in the holiday and the sometimes loving extremes to which parents go to fulfil that anticipation and wonder of Christmas in their children's lives.
 
James Whitcomb Riley
(October 7, 1849 - July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. His poems tended to be humorous or sentimental, and of the approximately one thousand poems that Riley authored, the majority are in dialect. His famous works include "Little Orphant Annie" and "The Raggedy Man".