Once a month there is a charity book fair in my neighbourhood, run by the Lions Club. It is always worth a look.
Recently I picked up a book from the Golden Library of Knowledge series, published by the Golden Press, in New York. Early Automobiles - The Story of Horseless Carriages From the Clock-Spring Car of 1649 to Henry Ford's Model T.
I had not heard of these books before, but I am impressed. They are hardbacks with laminated covers, and were published between 1958 and 1964.
They were rather along the lines of the How and Why Wonder Books. The series included some unusual and interesting looking titles, in addition to the more common subjects.
Some of the books are Disney tie-ins, others are 'adapted from Life' magazine or American Heritage. There are a variety of copyright dates in some of the books, as they were adapted from earlier works in other forms.
Size 239 mm x 176 mm; 54 pages; with a mix of mainly colour illustrations, diagrams, black and white and colour photographs, and some period advertising. My copy of Early Automobiles has a price of 69 cents printed on the front cover.
According to this site, realpriceguides, the first 18 volumes appeared in 1958-59, with books numbered in the 7700 series. From 1960 the original books were re-numbered in the 7800 series, and the line expanded to more than 30 titles.
It seems there were a few gaps in the numbering towards the end of the series. The last new volumes were published in 1964.
I do not know how long it would take to collect a complete set. Given that this is the first one I have ever seen, a while.
7701 7708 Walt Disney's White Wilderness (True-Life Adventure)
7702 7802 Indians and the Old West (adapted from American Heritage)
7703 7803 Famous American Ships (adapted from American Heritage)
7704 7804 Birds of the World
7705 7805 Walt Disney's Wildlife of the West (True-Life Adventure)
7706 7806 Butterflies and Moths
7707 7807 The Sea (adapted from Life)
7708 7808 Prehistoric Animals (adapted from Life)
7709 7809 Mathematics
7710 7810 Space Flight - The Coming Exploration of the Universe
7711 7811 Engines
7712 7812 Animals and Their Travels
7713 7813 The Moon - Our Neighboring World
7714 7814 The Insect World
7715 7815 Submarines
7716 7816 Atoms - The Core of All Matter
7717 7817 The World of Ants
7718 7818 Planets
7819 Fishes and How They Live
7820 The Story of Maps
7821 Rocks and How They Were Formed
7822 Reptiles
7823 Early Automobiles
7824 Flying Animals - Covers animals, birds, and insects
7825 Energy and Power
7826 Polar Regions
7827 The Body in Action
7828 Vision
7829 Whales Dolphins and Porpoises
7830 ?
7831 Magnetism
7832 Wonders of the Animal World
7833 ?
7834 Marvels of the Earth - An Introduction to Geology
Very nice, and highly educational.
Have you got any?
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Gorgeous illustrations in that book Paul. I love vintage car paintings like that. They were everywhere when I was a kid, on wallpaper, coasters, cups, bins. I wonder what the Space book is like?
ReplyDeleteSpace book is lovely - see below
DeleteI've got the Space Flight and Moon books. Just bought a second copy of The Moon too, which is significantly smaller than the main copy. The Space one is a favourite of mine and illustrated by John Polgreen, a fine draughtsman indeed!
ReplyDeleteBill, is that you? Is there any space book you don't have?
Deletehttps://wotanspacebooks.blogspot.com/2023/08/golden-and-oldies-too.html?m=1
ReplyDeleteObviously not! What gorgeous tomes! The penultimate pic is just like the SWORD Annual cover!
DeleteGreat illustrations from the Golden Age! I miss those days, daily… SFZ
ReplyDeleteMe too SF!
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