Pantaloons is a rare and little-known children's book by Osa Johnson — one of the most celebrated American explorers and adventurers of the early 20th century. Alongside her husband Martin Johnson, Osa traveled extensively through Africa and the Pacific, producing landmark wildlife films and bestselling books of adventure that made the Johnsons household names across America in the 1920s and 30s. Her children's books are an obscure and seldom-surfacing corner of her output, which makes this 1941 illustrated hardcover a genuinely unusual find for Johnson collectors and vintage adventure enthusiasts alike.
Illustrated by Arthur August Jansson, a respected mid-century children's book illustrator, Pantaloons is a whimsical 1941 hardcover with the warmth and charm of the era's best children's fiction — and the unmistakable spirit of an author who had actually lived an extraordinary life.
