[First Edition] The Happy Hollisters 1953 First Edition...

First Edition; presumed first printing. Hardcover in original illustrated dust jacket. 184 pp. Over 70 illustrations printed in two colors. The inaugural volume in the beloved Happy Hollisters juvenile mystery series, introducing Pete, Pam, Ricky, Holly and Sue Hollister and their adventures after the family moves to its new home on Pine Lake in Shoreham. "Jerry West" was the pseudonym of Andrew E. Svenson (1910-1975), a major writer and editor for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, the organization responsible for such enduring series as Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. Svenson wrote all 33 Happy Hollisters adventures, drawing inspiration for the fictional family from his own children and family experiences. This first volume was published by Doubleday in 1953 and established the family-centered mystery and adventure formula that continued throughout the series. Illustrated by Helen S. Hamilton with more than 70 illustrations printed in two colors, an important feature prominently advertised on the original jacket. Hamilton's drawings combine black linework with deliberately printed blue accents on clothing, vehicles, animals, objects and other selected details. Several particularly attractive full-page and double-page compositions are included. The book is bound in bright red textured boards with black spine lettering, a black Hollister-family vignette on the front board, and a striking yellow topstain. The original pictorial dust jacket retains its unclipped $1.50 price and advertises Hamilton's "Over 70 Illustrations in Two Colors." The copyright page states simply "COPYRIGHT, MCMLIII, BY DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC." with no indication of a subsequent printing or later edition. The book retains the early red binding and original $1.50 jacket associated with the 1953 issue. Taken together, these points strongly support a first-edition, first--issue copy. Book is exceptionally attractive for this 1953 juvenile title. Bright red textured boards remain clean and vivid, with strong black spine lettering and front-board illustration. Binding is tight and secure and the book presents squarely. Only minor shelf and extremity wear is evident. The yellow topstain remains particularly bright and attractive. Interior pages are generally clean and well preserved with mild age toning. The numerous illustrations by Helen S. Hamilton are printed as issued in black and blue. The blue visible throughout the title-page portrait and interior illustrations is the publisher's original second-color printing and is specifically advertised on the jacket as "Over 70 Illustrations in Two Colors by Helen S. Hamilton." A small handwritten ".35" appears at the upper corner of one illustrated flyleaf otherwise no significant reader markings. Also retained is a charming laid-in 1975 Curious Read!" bookmark, illustrated with artwork reproduced from a poster by Richard Scarry and carrying a reading verse by Jack Prelutsky. The reverse is handwritten "10/4/80 Mary Beaver Library." Original dust jacket: Good+. Jacket remains substantially complete and presents the colorful Helen S. Hamilton cover artwork well, but shows expected wear from use: rubbing and surface abrasion, edge creasing, short tears and chips, with more pronounced wear and losses around the spine crown and upper edges. Spine panel shows age toning. Lower edges and corners have additional small chips/tears. Importantly, the front flap remains unclipped with its original price. An uncommon survival in jacket for a children's series book that was intended to be repeatedly read and handled. The production of this first Hollisters volume is more sophisticated than it initially appears. Doubleday made Helen S. Hamilton's artwork a genuine selling point. Rather than conventional monochrome line drawings, Hamilton's illustrations employ selectively printed blue alongside black, sometimes across large full-page and double-page compositions.

Estimate:$44.95

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