Tag Archives: Vintage Childrens’

Books Update: Famous Five Back Again – Bring Your Own Ginger Beer!

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*Childrens’ Books: We’re delighted to welcome back George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy, in ten titles from Enid Blyton’s most fondly remembered group of children, including several duplicates. Some books have had adventures almost as exciting as those of the Five; grades range from VF to FA, and all have dust jackets, in grades ranging from FA/GD to VG/FN (one book has a photocopy of the original dust jacket; Five Have Plenty Of Fun). Another clearly loved and well-read copy, Five Go To Demon’s Rocks, has at least two sets of loose pages. The other titles are Five Get Into Trouble, Five Go Adventuring Again, Five Go Off In A Caravan, Five Go To Mystery Moor, Five Go To Smuggler’s Top, Five Have A Wonderful Time, Five On A Secret Trail and Five Run Away Together. We can’t promise cake and lashings of ginger beer, but we can offer plenty of adventures down Memory Lane.

 

Books Update: Tuck Into Billy Bunter (With Added Bessie)

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*Children’s Books: A Bunter-sized number of HC books about the Fat Owl of the Remove (and his sister) have just been added to our section, including several  first editions (Billy Bunter’s Bodyguard, Big Chief Bunter and Bunter The Stowaway). Later editions, published in the 1950s and 1960s feature Billy Bunter’s Benefit, Billy Bunter’s First Case, Bunter Comes For Christmas, Lord Billy Bunter and Billy Bunter’s Double. On the distaff side we’ve added Bessie Bunter Of Cliff House School, in first edition HC. All books have dust jackets, with all but one (a former library book) protected by removable archival film.

Books Update: Five Five Finder-Outers And An Extra Mystery

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*Childrens’ Books: Somewhat confusingly we ‘ve just added five titles from Enid Blyton’s Five Finder-Outer series to our Childrens’ Books section, comprising of #1, #3, #6, # 7 and #13. Larry, Fatty, Daisy, Pip and Bets, aided and abetted by Buster the Scottie dog, pit themselves against various nefarious characters and ‘Clear-Orf’, the local constable, to solve a range of mysteries: to wit The Mysteries Of The Burnt Cottage, The Hidden House, The Missing Man, The Pantomime Cat and The Secret Room. We’ve also added Ring O’Bells Mystery, in which Roger, Diana, Snubby, Barney and Miranda (a monkey), aided and abetted by Loony the mad black spaniel, pit themselves against various nefarious characters to solve a mystery.

Books Update: Shhhhhhhh…. Secret Seven!

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*Childrens’ Books: Although we already have a range of Enid Blyton books we have a few of her iconic series missing, which we start to rectify with this update. We’re adding three HC Secret Seven books, all later printings of the 1st editions. Starting with #3 in the series, Well Done Secret Seven, then proceeding to #6, Good Work Secret Seven and ending with #9, Secret Seven Mystery. Consisting of Peter, Janet, Jack, Barbara, George, Pam and Colin, the Secret Seven also includes the obligatory canine (but unofficial) member, Scamper the golden spaniel. Their adventures include a discovery in a tree-house, a stolen car and a search for a runaway.

Books Update: Jennings In Hardcover

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*Childrens’ Books: Originally a radio series, Anthony Buckeridge’s tales about Jennings were so popular that a succession of books about his exploits were published. We have four hardcover novels, to wit: Jennings’ Little Hut, wherein we discover why Jennings shouldn’t consider a career in the construction industry, Jennings And Darbishire, which reveals why Jennings is unsuited to a career in journalism, According to Jennings, in which we discover why Jennings is unlikely to become an astronaut and finally Jennings, Of Course! in which Jennings tries to be helpful, generally with hilariously unhelpful results. Three of these pictured below; all four have dustjackets, protected by removable archival film, as with all the dustjackets of our hardcover books.

 

Books Update: Pan, Peff & Peter Cheyney – A Great Combination

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*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: Three Great Pan editions of Peter Cheyney’s detective / Secret Service novels, all adorned with wonderful Peff (S J Peffer) cover art. Dames Don’t Care features Lemmy Caution, Dark Duet has Michael Kane (!) involved in counter-espionage while Dark Wanton features Quayle, Head of A Secret Service department setting a group of agents to hunt down a pair of Nazi war criminals.

 

Books Update: The Bookshop Crawl Cometh!!!

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This year we’re very excited (maybe the !!! gives it away?) to be taking part in the London Bookshop Crawl, which will be happening over the weekend of 9th – 11th February. The Bookshop Crawl, as you might imagine is like a pub crawl, only with books, and is an opportunity for booklovers to visit lots of (mainly) independent booksellers and be rewarded in the process.

We’ll be offering 10% off all purchases from our Books section, and a selection of free books (up to 5 per customer). In addition, for this Sunday (11th) only, we’ll be open from 10:30 to 18:00.

If you want to join in, or just find out more, just click here.

Books Update: A Mixed Bunch Of Childrens’ Classics

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*Childrens’ Books: As it says on the tin, a selection of classics have joined our shelves, ranging from Lewis Carroll’s Alice (both tales in one book), facsimiles of original editions of Frank Richards’ Billy Bunter’s Bolt and (as Hilda Richards) Bessie Bunter of Cliff House School and Enid Blyton’s first story of the Famous Five, Five On A Treasure Island. We’ve also added The Whispering Mountain (Joan Aiken), The Weirdstone Of Brisingamen (Alan Garner) and The Hundred And One Dalmations plus it’s sequel, The Starlight Barking, by Dodie Smith.

Books Update: Spirit Of Monica Edwards

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*Childrens’ Books: Monica Edwards fans need no reminding of how popular her stories of Punchbowl Farm and the Romney Marshes were, and still remain. We are delighted to have added a large number of her novels, mainly in hard cover editions, and most with their dust jackets. Titles include Punchbowl Farm, Punchbowl Midnight, Spirit of Punchbowl Farm, Dolphin Summer, Hidden In A Dream, No Going Back (1st HC edition), Operation Seabird (1st HC edition) and The Cownappers, as well as two paperbacks, Storm Ahead and The Nightbird (1st UK PB), plus others.

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Books Update: You Can’t Keep A Good Aviator Down!

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48_wej_biggles266w 48_wej_bigglespafw*Childrens’ Books: Once again we are adding more brilliant stories of air combat in the pioneer days of the Royal Flying Corps, featuring the Ace of Aces, Biggles. Captain W E Johns was a pilot himself flying over France during WWI, and many of the exploits he wrote about are based on true events. We have five Dean & Son editions from the 1970’s, all with dust jackets wrapped in archival film for added protection. The titles are Biggles And The Black Peril, Biggles Flies Again, Biggles Of 266, Biggles Of Camel Squadron and Biggles, Pioneer Air Fighter.

Books Update: Red Cover Williams

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*Childrens’ Books: The most popular boy in fiction returns to our shelves today, in the form of ten books in the favoured Macmillan Children’s edition with red covers and spines and reproductions of the original Thomas Henry front cover illustrations. William is variously Just, More, Still, and Sweet as he Carries On, is In Trouble, The Conqueror, The Fourth, The Good and simply William Again. Wherever he appears, you can be sure that chaos and misunderstandings will follow as William’s overactive imagination gets him into hot water.

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Books Update: Biggles Is Back!

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48_wej_bigglesairdetw 48_wej_bigglescruisecondw*Childrens’ Books: The popular aviator Biggles returns in five FN Dean & Son hardcover editions from the mid-1970’s. These all have very attractive pictorial boards rather than dust jackets, and have all been well looked after by their previous owner. Titles include Biggles Air Detective, Biggles & The Black Peril, Biggles Flies Again, Biggles in the Cruise of the Condor and Biggles Pioneer Air Fighter.

 

Books Update: Seven Of Five

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48_eb_5caravanw 48_eb_5finfarmw 48_eb_5okirrinagainw*Childrens’ Books: Seven scintillating Enid Blyton tales of pluck, resolve, stiff upper lips and plenty of backbone join the bookshelves today, as the Famous Five make a welcome reappearance, all in Hardcover with Dust Jackets, from the 1950’s and 1960’s. The ripping yarns include the Five variously falling Into Adventure, getting Into A Fix, going Off In A Caravan, going Off To Camp, On A Treasure Island, On Finniston Farm and On Kirrin Island Again. Summer holidays were REALLY long in those days!

Books Update: Evocations of childhood

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*Childrens’ Books: Today we release some examples of the most well-loved and memorable childrens’ books. Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland is available in a 1933 hardcover edition, with stunning illustrations (colour plates) and pictorial board by A E Jackson. C S Lewis’ Narnia books are represented in both the Puffin editions with all illustrations by Pauline Baynes and Fontana Lions editions illustrated by Steven Lavis (cover) and Pauline Baynes (interior). Two Monica Edwards stories, Punchbowl Midnight and Spirit Of Punchbowl Farm have been added as well as The Lost World (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), The Moon Of Gomrath (Alan Garner) and a fine facsimile edition of Billy Bunter In Brazil.

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