Do you know when the first paperbacks were printed on the series of Little House books? I found a set that says 1953 newly illustrated uniform edition printed 1953 by Harper and Row.
I can’t find anything to verify that the first ones in 1953 were paperback…. just wondering as I would love to buy them if they are from 1953 as I don’t need another set as I have one from the seventies.
Thanks for your help.
Linda
This set isn’t any (or much) older than your set from the 70s (nor do paperbacks hold much value anyway, even if they were the first paperbacks printed).
Even currently printed paperback Little House books will have the statement “newly illustrated, uniform edition printed 1953″ on them. This does not mean that the book you hold was printed in 1953, but that 1953 is when the newly illustrated uniform edition was first printed. 1953 is the year that all of the books came out in a set with new illustrations by Garth Williams. Prior to that, the books were illustrated by Helen Sewell, with Mildred Boyle for some books, and of course each book was printed in a different year.
The clue that tells me this set of paperbacks was not printed in 1953 is that they call themselves Harper & Row. I have several first edition 1953 hardback books with the Garth Williams illustrations, and these books say Harper & Brothers Company for the publisher. It was not until 1962 that Harper & Brothers became Harper & Row following a merger with another company. Since around 1990, it has been known as HarperCollins.
According to Sarah Sue: The paperback set came out in 1971. They were published simultaneously by Harpers (Yellow set) and Readers Digest (Blue set). Full color, full image covers were Scholastic.
Great detective work!
I would also add that there really wasn’t a paperback market for children’s books until the 1960s. Books like Little House tended to stay in hardcover because librarians and parents were buying the books, not kids. It wasn’t until the 1970s, when the chain/mall bookstores took off, that cheaper paperback editions of children’s books became widely available.
I wonder why Linda didn’t mention the Harper Trophy name, though, which ought to appear somewhere on the title page or copyright page, because Harper Trophy is the name of Harper’s paperback imprint.
If it DOESN’T say Harper Trophy, Linda, let us know! Because I’m thinking then it could be either a Scholastic Book Clubs thing (which, like Sarah Sue said, would be from the 70s), or… well, a mystery!
This isn’t any really meaningful comment, but I’m wondering what editions other readers of this blog have? I have the yellow paperbacks; I found a blue set (neat to know the origin of those now) at a used bookstore for my older daughter; and about 10 years ago (before she was even old enough to read!) I ordered the coloured gingham set from Scholastic for my younger daughter. We love that we all have our own sets (mine are rather tattered!).
Hi, I was wondering about the Laura Engalls Wilder books from 1971 printed by readers digest. these books are of blue color and in very good condition. I dont even think they have been read yet, they also came in a case which holds all 9 books, which is in very good condition. I was curious to what they might be worth. I was going through my grandparents attic and found these books in there. If you don’t know about the price of this find, can you please help me by letting me know where I may be able to search for a price. Thank You so much, Kenda
The Harpers version and the Readers Digest version paperbacks both first came out as box sets in 1971. However, the 1971 date continues to appear in box sets printed in later years and unlike the hardbacks, there is no special value even if it was a first edition. The price fluctuates, but a simple Ebay search would show what they are currently going for. I’d say roughly off the top of my head I last paid $20 for the last set of those I bought.