Blyton 1st Editions & Subsequent Impressions

[Horace_Tipperlong]

Hi everyone

I have recently started collecting 1st Editions and 1st Prints of Famous Five and Adventure Series books. However, I can't seem to find anywhere on internet, a list of the month & year the books were 1st printed. It is confusing, for example, Five On A Treasure Island was first published 1942, and I have a 1950's later impression, that says in the front "first published September 1942". Yet I have seen for sale an August 1942 as a 1st, and a September 1942 listed as a 1st reprint (which I assume means it was reprinted in September).

Also, The Mountain of Adventure, to my knowledge has 3 printings in the 1st year it was published in 1949!

Does anyone know a website/book etc for Enid Blyton book collectors, that lists what dates collectors of true 1st printings should look for?

Would be grateful for any help.

[Lucky Star]

I dont have the kind of in depth knowledge to answer your questions on the dates Horace but I can tell you that the Cave of Books on this very site (access from the homepage) is the greatest source of Blyton book information anywhere on the internet.

[Fiona1986]

I believe, also, Tony's Bibliographies which are available to buy on the site would contain all such info.

Sometimes publishers print the month of publication as, say, August, when in fact the book was published in September. I recall Tony telling me this a while back when I queried some detail of a book.......though I cannot remember the exact details of what he said

[Anita Bensoussane]

Does anyone know a website/book etc for Enid Blyton book collectors, that lists what dates collectors of true 1st printings should look for?

I believe, also, Tony's Bibliographies which are available to buy on the site would contain all such info.

Welcome, Horace! Yes, Fiona is right that Tony Summerfield's Illustrated Bibliography (published in four volumes) lists the month of first publication as well as giving other details and showing a picture of the cover. If a story was serialised in a magazine before coming out in book form, the dates of the serialisation are also given. To give you an idea of the amount of information included, here is the entry for Five Go Down to the Sea:

1953
Hodder & Stoughton
Five Go Down to the Sea (Famous Five 12) (September 10) 7/6 (7 1/2 x 5) (191 pages)
Red cloth boards with title in black on spine and front, with a dustwrapper (ill. Eileen A. Soper)
(pictorial endpapers printed in navy blue and black with eight illustrations printed in two colours, 4 red and black, and 4 blue and black) (1 story - 19 chapters - originally serialised in Enid Blyton's Magazine March 18th-November 25th 1953 [No. 1, Vol 1-No. 19, Vol 1])
(notes: The front flap of the 1st edition dustwrapper briefly describes the first eight books in the 'Fives' series and the back flap has books 9 to 11 and an advertisement for 'The Famous Five Card Game' by Pepys. Brockhampton Press took over the publishing in 1969. It was first published in the USA by Reilly & Lee in 1961, with illustrations by Frank Aloise)

If interested, the Illustrated Bibliography is available from the Society Shop:

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

I have all four volumes and dip into them regularly - they're a mine of information.

[Horace_Tipperlong]

Hi everyone, thanks very much for the quick info - looks like Tony's books are just what I'm looking for.

Best Regards

[Wayne Pyer]

Hello and welcome Horace.