Take My Life - 1967

I acquired this book over the Christmas holiday while my grandmother was cleaning out her basement. I haven't read the book yet, but I picked it up because I really liked the cover illustration.  I loved how the bold white silhouette contrasted against the busy and colorful background of London, complete with a watercolor texture sky.  

Take My Life was written by Winston Graham and published by Doubleday & Company, Inc in New York in 1967.  This particular copy is marked on the flap as being a Book Club Edition.  The illustration on the cover is credited to Lynn Sweat.  Does that name sound familiar to you at all?  It might - Lynn Sweat is known for the illustration work he has done for the popular Amelia Bedelia series of children's books.

The Little Mailman of Bayberry Lane - 1952

The Little Mailman of Bayberry Lane is an adorable little hardcover children's book, written by Ian Munn and illustrated by Elizabeth Webb.  This book was published in 1952 by Rand McNally & Company in Chicago.  

The book is about the little chipmunk mailman of Bayberry Lane who delivers mail to all of the animals.  He notices that Mrs. Pig always waits by her mailbox, but never receives any mail, which he thinks is very sad and lonely.  He goes home and writes letters to all of the other animals to arrange a surprise party for Mrs. Pig so that she can make new friends, after which she starts happily sending and receiving mail every day.

Black Beauty - 1910s or 1920s

This beautiful hardcover edition of Anna Sewell's classic book Black Beauty was published by M.A. Donohue & Co. in Chicago.  The clothbound hardcover has the design stamped into it, with the top of the pages having a gold edging that matches the title lettering on the cover and spine.

The book is not dated, but after some hefty internet searching I was able to track down the same book being sold through the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America.  Oddly enough, in my edition, on both the spine and the inside title page, author Anna Sewell's name is incorrectly spelled as Anna Sewall.

I did find a 1920 edition that was published by the same company that, for the most part, had the same black and white illustrations but a different style title page.  The author's name was spelled correctly on that 1920 edition, which leads me to think that my undated edition is an earlier one, and that the author's name was corrected in later printings.

I'm not posting any of the illustrations from the inside because I couldn't get a clean scan without forcing the spine of the book (which I always try to avoid doing), but the black and white illustrations are mostly the same ones that are seen in many other printings of the book from this era.

Our First Ladies - 1957

This is the third and final book I will be featuring today for the Fourth of July.  This book is a 1957 edition of Jane and Burt McConnell's Our First Ladies: Martha Washington to Mamie Eisenhower, published by Thomas Y. Crowell Company in New York. 

In Calico and Crinoline - 1966

In honor of the Fourth of July, I thought I would share a few American history themed books that I got from a library discard pile last year.  This book is a 1966 edition of Eleanor Sickle's In Calico and Crinoline: True Stories of American Women 1608-1865, published by The Viking Press in New York.  

Profiles In Courage - 1961

In honor of the Fourth of July, I thought I would share a few American history themed books that I got from a library discard pile last year.  This book is a 1961 Abridged Young Readers Edition of John F. Kennedy's Profiles In Courage, published by Harper & Brothers in New York.  It does have a few faded pen scribbles on the front, but that's inevitable with 50 year old school books.

Circus ABC - 1955

Circus ABC is written by Kathryn Jackson, illustrated by J. P. Miller, and published by Golden Press of New York in 1955. This soft-cover book is another great example of mid-century children's book illustration styles, relying more heavily on constructing pictures out of shapes than lines. 

Andersen's Fairy Tales - 1920's

Andersen's Fairy Tales, or Andersen's and Other Fairy Tales as it says on the title page, is a fully illustrated children's book published by Whitman Publishing Co. in Racine, Wisconsin.  The illustrations don't have a printed credit on the title page, but the artist's name Elsie M. Kroll is visible in a few of the full page illustrations. There is no publication date on the inside, but some internet research is leading me to guess that it is from the 1920's.  

One thing that I thought was unusual about this book was that the pages have been printed on an almost brown toned paper.  The color clearly can't be attributed just to age, it must have been a design choice by the publisher.  I actually brightened the scans of the pages a bit so that the illustrations could show up better.  

Side note - I love the third image posted below that shows all of the little forest animals drawing, especially the little squirrel that is sitting on the window ledge while sketching.

I think it's almost time for me to re-organize my books so that the fairy tales collection gets its own shelf. 

Billy and His Steam Roller - 1951

Billy and His Steam Roller, written Inez Bertail and illustrated by Bernice Myers, was published by Wonder Books in New York in 1951. This book is a great example of mid-century children's book illustration styles, with bright colors and big solid shapes, as opposed to a lot of drawn lines.