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Lowrey, Janette Sebring –-The Poky Little Puppy, Simon and Schuster (Little Golden Book), 1942, 1st edition, 1st printing - Illustrations by Gustaf Tenggren. Super scarce even without the original jacket.

Move over boy wizard - 15,000,000 readers can't be wrong!

Publisher's Weekly puts out a list called the 'All Time Best Selling Children's Books'. It's really a list of the best selling books in America, but even so, a book must have sold a minimum of 750,000 hardcover copies to make the list and there are about 200 on the list.

This list is like a who's who of famous children's books but, if you're like me, you will be surprised to see who topped the list as the all time number one best selling children's book in America. No, it isn't Harry Potter, it is Janette Lowrey's 'The Poky Little Puppy' with close to fifteen million copies sold since its first publication in 1942. In terms of sales in America, it eclipses every other famous children's book ever written. Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit comes in a respectable second, having sold just over nine million copies with about a forty years' head start. And what about the boy wizard? The first four of the Harry Potter books made the list, the best being 'The Goblet of Fire' (5th in the list with just under 8 million copies - of course it hasn't yet had the advantage of an extra fifty years of sales, but it has a long way to go to catch the puppy). I was astonished to note that 5 of the top 10 bestsellers were 'Little Golden Books' - 'Scuffy the Tugboat', 'Tootle' and 'The Saggy Baggy Elephant' all sold millions of copies ('Pat the Bunny' is listed as the fifth 'Golden Book', but it was really the first 'interactive' book for small readers and not in the same format as the usual LGBs). Even if you combined the sales of Dr. Seuss' best selling book, Green Eggs and Ham (#4 on the list) together with his Cat in the Hat (#9 on the list), the two still just fall a little below the puppy. All this has contributed greatly to the increasing 'collectability' of LG Books in the past couple of years.

Simon and Schuster started the 'Little Golden Book' series with twelve titles, released simultaneously, and marketed with the brilliant new idea (for the time) of mass marketing the books at the unheard of price of 25 cents and placing them not only in bookstores but unusual places like grocery stores and pharmacies. They originally all came with dust jackets that bear the iconic leafy vine motif in gold along the spine and the sales were incredible. 'The Poky Little Puppy' had a second print run after a month of its being released. In these original printings, the books all had a blue spine. The rear panel of these first books all listed the first twelve books in the series with the illustrators listed beside each one.

Knowing how to identify the first print of any book is critical. With regard to the 'Poky Little Puppy', the list on the back of the book and the jacket must be limited to the twelve books in the original release. The spine of the book must be blue and the original 25c pricing must be found on the bottom of the front flap (the pricing remained the same for years). It will have pictorial boards that match the pictures on the dust jacket. According to Kristen Masters' blog on identifying the first prints of Simon & Schuster, between 1937 - 1973, "First editions do not include printing or edition notices on the copyright page. Subsequent editions do include the date and sometimes the printing quantity. The date and the words "first printing" are not always used on first editions, but second and subsequent editions are always marked as such."

The first print of the Puppy will, therefore, not have a 'first printing' statement while, for example, a second print states: 'First printing August 1942' with 'Second printing September 1942' printed underneath. You need to note that a 'new edition' came out in 1945 with a 'First printing' statement, but the copyright page noted the prior printings from 1942/43. A later edition from the 1950's has an 'A' in the margin of the last page, a sign for first prints at the time, but in this case it only denotes a first print of a much later edition.

This copy has all the points mentioned for a first state book in first state jacket:

- Correct information on the copyright page with no printing statement above.

- The book list on the back of both jacket and book is limited to the first twelve books of the series.

- The spine is blue cloth

- The dust jacket is priced at 25 cents

- The dust jacket and book boards are matched.

- The dust jacket has a gold leaf motif along the spine.

- The dust jacket rear flap has advertisements for U.S. War bonds

Condition: VG+/Fine with the following noted:

Book: a good solid binding, vibrant blue colored cloth on the spine with a hint of rubbing along the edges and slight loss at the front edge bottom fore edge side. The boards are clean with bright coloring - two small dotted whitened areas on front. The interior pages are a bit age toned but without chips, tears or folds, stains. There's a previous owner's name still evident on the front interior board - the area is lightened from an attempt to erase it. Overall as good a copy of the exceptionally rare true first as can likely be found in an eighty year old children's book.

Jacket: A bright, fresh looking jacket that retains an almost pristine look. There is a hint of wear?loss on the four fore edge corners and both ends of the spine front and a faint crease line on the lower edge near the fore edge. All the flaws on the jacket are minor so that, at first glance, it almost looks like it would have in 1942. This is an exceptional example of the jacket - complete, bright and clean.

With most of the value of children’s books usually 'wrapped up' in the presence/quality of their dust jackets - here is a rare copy of the 'Puppy' in a stunning jacket. It will appeal to the serious children's book collector who desires acquiring only the best copies for their collection.

ABOUT ME

I am a collector, not a bookstore. The buying and selling I do is my hobby. Although I do buy and sell a variety of books that interest me, my specialty and expertise is Roald Dahl's first editions. I have been collecting and researching Dahl books and material for over thirty years and have written articles about collecting his books and magazines for the now defunct British journal 'The Book and Magazine Collector' (#217 April, 2002 & #240 March, 2004).

Note: I normally don't take jackets out of their mylar protectors when photographing. This protects the jacket from wear and should be viewed by potential purchasers as an advantage. However, it sometimes results in glares or 'ripple' effects from the lighting. If there is an actual flaw, it will be noted in the description.

THE FINE PRINT

Payment by Paypal is expected within the week of purchase unless prior arrangements have been made.

Please read/view description and pictures carefully. There's no substitute for seeing the book 'in person' but I strive for accuracy and completeness between pictures and written description.

Returns: If the item is not as described, Ebay's guarantee covers a refund of price and postage. In addition, I guarantee all my listings for satisfaction - purchase price only, not postage. You must notify me within 3 days of delivery and the item must be returned in the same condition as it was when purchased.

Postage from Canada is expensive compared to internal US mail, although I've found US post's cost to mail from the US to Canada even more expensive when tracking and/or insurance is required. In Canada, it is not uncommon for a normal book with tracking to cost around $25 CDN to send to the US. This increases at a cost of $2 per $100 value if insurance is required. In addition, any listing. Postage costs on the listing are for continental North America. I will accept bids from other countries, but you MUST contact me prior to bidding to get a quote for the postage. Costs for overseas packages are substantial and, even if going surface, can take several months to arrive. (Please remember that Ebay purchase guarantee for sellers requires tracked and signed options - these options are extremely costly!

Any and all import duties, brokerage fees, customs' charges, state/provincial taxes and the like are the responsibility of the buyer.

A NOTE ON PRICING: If you're interested in a listing and would like me to consider a lesser price, by all means contact me through the ebay mail system. I will give reasonable offers serious consideration.

Books are graded on condition using a standard book seller's scale: As New (the 'mint' or perfect copy), Fine (exceptional in most respects), VG (a reasonable copy with some minor issues that will be noted), G (an acceptable copy with normal use wear and tear), Fair (heavier wear from use), Poor/Reading copy (major flaws as noted - usually not collectable unless the issue is scarce and the title desirable)