Two classic Pelican (Penguin) 1940’s classic books on philosophy and history.

Thinking To Some Purpose by L Susan Stebbing 1945 (A4)

A Shirt History Of The World H G Wells 1946 (A5)

Both books are in good condition given the vintage, some foxing as you would expect, minor signs of usage, a small neat note on each inside page, all pages clean and complete.

Pelican Books was established in 1937 as a non-fiction imprint for low-cost intellectual paperbacks. Co-founder Allen Lane wrote, ‘We… believed in the existence in this country of a vast reading public for intelligent books at a low price, and staked everything on it.’
Pelican lowered the traditional barriers to knowledge by selling books at the cost of a packet of cigarettes. In 1938, The Spectator reported, 'If there is any sense in saying that the culture of the world should be accessible to all without distinctions of wealth, such publications are helping to make it true.' These books became especially popular among the self-educating post-war generation, and Pelican was even called an ‘informal university for '50s Britons’ by The Guardian.

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