The Mystery Series.

[bilgewaters]

Just finished" Invisible Thief.So I've refreshed my memory of the illustrations.They are quite brilliant,Fatty looks just how I pictured him.I think they are really the ones I prefer.

[pete9012S]

Also, don't forget Charles Stewart (above) illustrated a number of books in the 1960's - and in more 'modern' times (the 1990's) Rodney Sutton (below) illustrated the entire series too.



See their work here:



http://seriesbookart.co.uk/blyton/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Rob Houghton]

I don't mind either of those two, as they were proficient illustrators who could draw well - a trait not always obvious in Enid Blyton illustrators like poor old J Abbey!

But my favourite of them all is still Lilian Buchanan. I wish she had illustrated more of Enid's books!

[John Pickup]

But my favourite of them all is still Lilian Buchanan. I wish she had illustrated more of Enid's books!

So do I, Rob. I've got all the Five Find Outer books in hardback and my favourite wrappers are Missing Man and Strange Messages, both done by Lilian Buchanan.

[pete9012S]

As much as it pains me to say this, I agree with John Pickup about an illustrator.
Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible I'm sure...

[Rob Houghton]

But my favourite of them all is still Lilian Buchanan. I wish she had illustrated more of Enid's books!

So do I, Rob. I've got all the Five Find Outer books in hardback and my favourite wrappers are Missing Man and Strange Messages, both done by Lilian Buchanan.

mine too - I think Strange Messages is my favourite wrapper - although Missing Man comes very close!

[Splodj]

The first 3 mystery books only featured a wraparound picture on their dustjackets from the 1950 editions, before then the picture was restricted to the front.

So did they go back to Abbey and ask him to paint some more to cover the back and spine?

It does look as if there is a 'join' where he extended the paintings to the left. With 'Secret Room' the left side looks so unrelated to the right side that you could almost imagine he took a painting he had already done about something else and stuck it on!

[pete9012S]

What a great post splodge! Thank you - have we ever discussed this before on the forums or in the Journal.
I have a feeling Tony's bibliographies must surely mention this little known fact?

Regards

Pete

[pete9012S]

Here are the pre-1950 covers before they were expanded - has this been discussed on the forums or in the Journal before? I love it when I discover something new!







The Cave shows the 1950's editions of the first three books in greater detail:
https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/fiv ... outers.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Daisy]

The first two look as if the back always belonged to the front! I wonder if the artist did actually do the whole thing to begin with but only half was used? I agree Secret Room does look a bit different though.

[pete9012S]

Yes, Daisy. When it's pointed out to you and you look at the two halves of the tree it seems as if the artist has added to the original front cover.
How many here knew about this? It's a revelation to me - although that's not saying much!

[Lucky Star]

I didn't know about it but like you Pete I find it fascinating.

[Boatbuilder]

From my own experience of working with the printing industry when I was a buyer, I would think the artwork may have been done as one complete piece to start with but the publisher decided that they only wanted to use the front part of it as they wanted the wrapper to be in keeping with the other books in the series.

For whatever reason when they decided to go with the full picture wrapper, the print house would have been asked to replace the plates and it was probably they who were responsible for the mismatching. It looks like they amended the films used for making the printing plates rather than produce a completely new set of films from the original artwork, so it was probably all down to keeping the additional costs to a minimum.

I can't see the artist being responsible for such differences.

[pete9012S]

Enid Blyton: An Illustrated Bibliography, Part 2 (1943-1952)
by Tony Summerfield
Price: £18.55
Available to Society members only.

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/shop.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As I expected, Tony lists and explains all these cover changes in The Illustrated Bibliography part 2 1943-1952.
The level of research and detailed explanations in this work make it a must for the genuine Blyton collector.

Tony mentions two other very popular series of books that received the same additional cover work around the same time too.
If you haven't already, why not find out more by treating yourself to a copy of this essential guide for the serious enthusiast.

[Splodj]

The strange thing to me about these three covers is that the smaller ones make more sense than the wraparound ones.

In Burnt Cottage it was an outhouse that was on fire. This is easier to imagine in the smaller picture than the larger one which includes a smaller cottage nearby, emphasising the large size of the one on fire.

In Disappearing Cat the panorama reveals a cat-house much larger than I imagined. I mean it's almost as big as Fatty's shed!

And what is that thatched cottage doing adjoined to the house with the Secret Room? 'It looked a lonely and desolate place. The house itself was large, high, and rambling, and had two or three absurd little towers.'