DESCRIPTION:

Offered is a complete 27-volume Illustrated Junior Library set published by Grosset & Dunlap. The early Kingsport Press editions feature the colorful pictorial bindings designed by Oscar Ogg. Complete sets in this condition are increasingly difficult to find.

Titles Included

• Aesop’s Fables

• Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

• Andersen’s Fairy Tales

• Arabian Nights

• Black Beauty

• Five Little Peppers and How They Grew

• Grimm’s Fairy Tales

• Gulliver’s Travels

• Hans Brinker

• Heidi

• King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table

• Kidnapped

• Little Men

• Little Women

• Peter Pan and Wendy

• Robinson Crusoe

• Swiss Family Robinson

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

• The Jungle Book

• The Little Lame Prince

• The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

• The Three Musketeers

• The Wind in the Willows

• The Wizard of Oz

• A Tale of Two Cities

• Treasure Island

Condition

Overall, this is an exceptionally attractive, complete 27-volume set that has been well preserved. The books exhibit light age-related wear consistent with careful ownership, and there is a slight musty odor from long-term storage typical of many vintage books.

• Complete matching 27-volume set, with most dating from the 1940's; there is one from 1966, and a couple from the 1950's.

• Kingsport Press printings.

• Bright pictorial bindings with strong gold spine lettering.

• Tight bindings throughout.

• Exceptionally clean pages with no writing or foxing.

• Most volumes show little to no evidence of having been read and minimal signs of handling.

• Protected for many years by clear archival-style plastic covers. On a few books, the plastic cover has left a film on the first inner page (see photo for example).

• Light age-related shelf wear consistent with careful storage.

• A slight musty odor from long-term storage is present, as is common with vintage books of this age. The odor is mild but should be noted for accuracy.

• Please examine all photographs carefully, as they are part of the description.

Historical Notes

Many of these volumes were published during the early generation of the Illustrated Junior Library series by Grosset & Dunlap and feature book design by Oscar Ogg, an influential American typographer and book designer during the 1930s through the 1950s. The series features illustrations by a distinguished group of artists, including Arthur Szyk, Lynd Ward, Fritz Eichenberg, Fritz Kredel, Sir John Tenniel, Rafaello Busoni, William Sharp, Everett Gee Jackson, Donald McKay, Aldren Watson, Earle Goodenow, and W. T. Mars.

The books were printed by Kingsport Press and represent a classic example of high-quality postwar American juvenile publishing.

Complete matching sets are considerably more difficult to locate than individual volumes and make an outstanding addition to any children’s literature, Americana, or vintage book collection.

SHIPPING AND OTHER INFORMATION:

Shipping: Items will be very carefully wrapped and packaged. The shipping cost shown is for the actual cost of postage; we don’t add any handling charges as some sellers do. We only ship internationally (outside the U.S.) via Ebay’s Global Shipping Program. Costs will happily be combined for multiple auctions; simply request a combined invoice before paying.

Other:  All our items come from a smoke-free / pet-free environment. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We will be happy to answer all questions and send additional photos if desired. Thank you for looking!

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