H.G. Wells compilation - 1963

I found this compilation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, also Selected Short Stories in a thrift store.  It was published in 1963 by Platt & Munk, Publishers in New York.  

I picked it up mainly because I liked the 1960s sci-fi art on the paper cover.  While I was scanning it, I found out that the clothbound cover underneath the paper cover also has a nice minimalist look to it.  All in all, not bad for fifty cents!

Orange and Green - 1880s or 1890s

Orange and Green - For the Temple: A Tall of the Fall of Jersualem by G.A. Henty is a clothbound hardcover historical adventure story.  It was published by The Federal Book Company Publishers in New York.  There is no publication date printed on the inside, but a little searching showed that the book was first published in 1888.  Judging from the style of this book, I would guess that it is likely from that time period.  As always, if anyone has any further info that would help pin down the publication date, please share!

Goody Two Shoes - 1900s

This hardcover edition of Goody Two Shoes, published by A.L. Burt Company in New York, does not have a publication date printed on the inside, but near as I can figure after doing some research is that it is from the early 1900's.  Nearly every page on the inside has a black and white illustration, some more elaborate than others.  No specific artist is credited at the front of the book, but various artist signatures can be found scattered throughout the illustrations in the book.  

Style wise, the book is quite similar to two others in my collection, Tanglewood Tales and The House That Jack Built. 

If any readers know anything more specific about the publication date, I'd love to know!

Jim and Judy - 1947

Jim and Judy, by Arthur I. Gates, Miriam Blanton Huber, and Celeste Comegys Peardon, is a typical early reader book from the Work-Play Books of that era. This particular edition is from 1947, but this is a book that had several reprints from when it first came out in 1939 from The Macmillan Company.  There were several artists that contributed to this book, with the design and illustrations being credited to Cyrus LeRoy Baldridge, Charles B. Falls, David Hendrickson, Lucile Patterson Marsh, Herbert Stoops, Katherine Sturges, and Adolph Treidler.

When I bought this book, I picked it up primarily because I liked the silhouetted cover design, which you can see below in the pictures of the front and back. The end papers lining the cover also have a fun one color illustration of a farm play set.  However, the illustrations in the inside are a classic example of the family oriented books of the 1940s.  I've included a few of the nicer examples from the book below.  You can tell how the style changed slightly depending on who had been hired to illustrate that particular story.

Ray Bradbury's S Is For Space - 1966

This book was another rescue from the same library discard pile as the one featured in the previous post.  This 1966 hardcover edition of Ray Bradbury's S is for Space, published by Doubleday, has the picture printed directly on to the canvas cover instead of having a paper slip cover.  There is no artist credited for the cover illustration, but it looks very similar to the style seen in the R is for Rocket cover shown in the last post.  I especially like the swirl of the galaxy behind the spaceman, and the colorful patterns on the suit that the person is wearing.

I flipped the book open while scanning the cover, and the first few lines of Bradbury's introduction made me smile.  

"Jules Verne was my father.

H.G. Wells was my wise uncle.

Edgar Allen Poe was the batwinged cousin we kept high in the back attic room.

Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers were my brothers and friends.

There you have my ancestry.

Adding, of course, the fact that in all probability Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, author of Frankenstein was my mother.

With a family like that, how else could I have turned out than as I did: a writer of fantasy and most curious tales of science fiction." 

Ray Bradbury's R is for Rocket - 1962

 A few months back, I had rescued this hardcover version of Ray Bradbury's R is for Rocket from a library discard pile. I've had a paperback copy for years, but I loved the artwork on this 1962 hardcover (published by Doubleday, no artist credit). I brought the book home, and this past weekend I finally got a chance to frame the cover and hang it on my wall - without any cutting of the paper cover. I took off the library dust jacket that was covering it and pressed the slightly battered paper cover in a frame.

 Not only did I frame it because I liked the artwork, but Ray Bradbury was one of the first authors that I really and thoroughly enjoyed when I was in high school. I remember being given a short story of his here and there through school textbook anthologies, and then my junior year I came across Fahrenheit 451 and I was hooked. Over the next few years, I read everything by Bradbury that I could get my hands on. Any time I found a book of his at one of the many used book sales I would frequent, I was like a pirate discovering buried treasure.

 Today, during my lunch break at work, my phone lit up with a CNN alert to tell me that Ray Bradbury had passed away. I couldn't believe it, as just this past weekend I was talking to my fiancé about how much I love Bradbury's books while I framed the R is for Rocket cover. So as a humble fan, I would just like to say thank you for the all of the stories, Mr. Bradbury. You will be missed, but your words will live on.