Auctioned book collection

[Anita Bensoussane]

I went to the Cave of Books and found that I have one of the more recent editions in my set of 'Enid Blyton Little Books' - It's number six and my copy has an elephant on the front cover. It is a true 'new edition' rather than a reprint as some of Soper's eye-catching illustrations are omitted - for example the double-page centre-spread is not used - but other illustrations are included and changes are made to some other pictures. I bet that you could buy one of these for a more modest price and the best news is that the story is not abridged at all.

It's interesting to hear about the illustration differences in the new edition, Judith. Why were changes made to some pictures, I wonder? Was it simply to do with the different size/shape of the pages, or were some things altered in order to look more up-to-date?

[Judith Crabb]

Barely ten years separated the editions, so there is no sign of modernisation. The changes can all be attributed to format. Sometimes the only changes were when pictures were split into two and were surprisingly effective in the fresh layout. The new small vignettes suited the almost square format of the series. Eileen Soper gets no credit on the title page, but the illustrations are of course unmistakably hers.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks, Judith!

[tix]

It looks as if one could make a lot of money these days just by selling End Blyton books. When avid fans purchased tales appearing in days of yore I guess very few considered the eventuality of such value being attached to them.

I've fourteen of the Little Books, and "Come To The Circus" looks pretty good save for someone's name and address printed inside the cover - but would a collector pay £229 for it? (I've just looked at the EBS site again and it appears the price has now increased to £340).

Unless he or she was a fairly rich person or perhaps had a full collection minus one, I can't imagine a hobbyist prepared to part with that much cash for a small booklet.

The 'Little Books' are favourites at this end because apart from being excellent examples of Blyton in her heyday, they're also enhanced with a comely selection of Soper and Brett illustrations.

An added bonus is that many of them are in colour.

Presumably the modern reprints are tinted, which is a quality sadly lacking in the older publications; I think it'd be nice to possess original copies of the 'Wishing Chair' or other landmark books containing pictures in full colour.