Robert Benchley was quite prescient in his inscription in this 1921 first edition of his first work, Of All Things. In this February 9, 1945, inscription to "Ed," Benchley writes, "You will see how valuable this first edition of my very first book is when I tell you that it originally sold for two bucks. Hang onto it, boy, and in another ten years sell, for God's sake, before it gets you in the red." Actually, the latter part of the inscription, to sell in ten years, was not such good advice. If Ed hung on until the present, he could have offered the book for $2,500 (of course if Ed was a contemporary of Benchley, he would be 118-years-old now and probably couldn't have much fun with the money).

Here is an item to set collectors of L. Frank Baum, creator of the wonderful Wizard of Oz, to dreaming. It is Catalogue 11 from Los Angeles bookseller Peggy Christian, released in 1974. It offered a collection of Baum items that had come from his family. In 1974, you could purchase Baum's personal scrapbooks, including one kept for the publication of the "Wizard," for $150 each. There was also a manuscript for a musical version of the "Wizard." $30.

James Pepper Rare Books may be found online at www. Jamespepperbooks.com, telephone 805-963-1025.