All volumes good to very good. A complete set of Penguin Books famed “King Penguin” series with complete dust jackets on the books that were original issued with them. Most copies show minimal signs of usage with rubbing on the edges or dust jackets with slight creasing. Any noticeable copy specific wear will be listed below.
Founder of Penguin, Allen Lane, described this series as “illustrated keepsakes of special projects”. Typically known for their cheap fiction reprints, the “King Penguin” series is an example of Penguin Books attempting to provide collectable higher end collectable works of non-fiction, which could be nice to own and used as gifts. Each volume has its own specific topic, typically composed of an essay length prose of around 32 pages, and then 12-16 illustrated plates. Topics ranging from domestic topics like the history of the railways, or British architecture, to topics such as Mexican magic books, and Egyptian paintings. The wide range of titles highlights a war time and post World War 2 desire by the British Public to engage with accessible educational material.
Each volume has a beautifully designed cover, and the illustrations and pictorial plates are of good quality. Finding a complete set such as this, with accompanying dust jackets, and in as great of quality, is uncommon. A significant part of this quality is attributed to the series editor from 1941-1959, Nikolaus Pevsner. Pevsner was a renowned British art historian and architectural historian who was well connected within the British cultural scene and able to persuaded influential people to contribute to the series both as authors and designers. Some of the notable contributors include designer Enid Marx (who designed the covers of 5 volumes in the series), visual artist Clarke Hutton (cover designer and illustrator for Popular Art in Britain), book designer Noel Carrington (contributed to two volumes), and writer Max Beerbohm (author of Poet’s Corner). Simply a wonderful example of some of the best designed books of the period.
British Birds on Lake, River and Stream; A Book of Roses; A Book of Ships: soft cover version; Portraits of Christ: hard cover version; Caricature: hard cover version; British Shells; Fashions and Fashion Plates 1800-1900; Elizabethan Miniatures; The Microcosm of London: bookplate adhered to front cover paste down; The Bayeux Tapestry; Fishes of Britain’s Rivers and Lakes; The Poet’s Corner; Edible Fungi: notable spotting on the colour plates on the back; A Book of Lilies: top of spine and page spotting; Seashore Life and Pattern; Children as Artists; The Leaves of Southwell; Some British Moths; Garden Birds: Boards are kinda messy and top of spine; English Ballet; Popular Art in Britain; Heraldry in England: tape repair on spine; Poisonous Fungi; Birds of the Sea; Ur: The First Phases; A Book of Toys; Flowers of Marsh and Stream; A Book of English Clocks: First edition, with dust jacket, likely a later issue, or not original jacket because it has a dust jacket that looks as if it belongs with the 1950 reprint; Flowers of the Woods; A Selection of Engravings on Wood by Thomas Bewick (with a note on him by John Rayner): Slight discolouring on back board; English Book Illustration 1800-1900; A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas: has dust jacket, clipped; slight tear on top of dust jacket at spine; Russian Icons: boards slightly warped ; The English Tradition in Design; Spiders; Ballooning; Wild Flowers of the Chalk; Compliments of the Season; Woodcuts of Albrecht Durer; Edward Gordon Craig Designs for the Theatre; British Butterflies: has dust jacket, clipped; British Military Uniforms: Small stain on back board by spine; A Prospect of Wales; Tulipomania: has dust jacket, clipped; Unknown Westminster Abbey: bookplate on front pastedown; Hughland Dress; British Reptiles and Amphibia; A Book of Scripts: has dust jacket, unclipped; Some British Beetles; Popular Art in the United States; Life in an English Village: page 5 has a slight tear; The Isle of Wight: has dust jacket, unclipped; Spine of jacket is tears away; Flowers of the Meadow: has dust jacket, unclipped; Greek Terracottas: has dust jacket, clipped; Romney Marsh: has dust jacket, clipped; Early British Railways: has dust jacket, clipped; spotting on inside jacket and paste down; Mosses: has dust jacket, unclipped; A Book of Ducks: has dust jacket, clipped; Ackermann’s Cambridge: has dust jacket, clipped; The Crown Jewels: has dust jacket, clipped, marginalia on pages 12-13; An Atlas of Tudor England and Wales: has dust jacket, unclipped; Medieval Carvings in Exeter Cathedral: has dust jacket, unclipped, discolouring on end pages; A Book of Greek Coins: has dust jacket, unclipped, spotting on fore-edge; Magic Books from Mexico: Has dust jacket, unclipped; Semi-Precious Stones: has dust jacket, unclipped, head of spine is broken; Birds of a Plata: has dust jacket, unclipped; Mountain Birds: Has dust jacket, clipped; Animals in Staffordshire Pottery: has dust jacket, clipped; slight tear to jacket at the foot of the spine; Ackermann’s Oxford: has dust jacket, unclipped; The Diverting History of John Gilpin: has dust jacket, unclipped; Egyptian Paintings: Has dust jacket, unclipped, jacket is tapped for preservation on the edges, which has caused discolouring to the external boards; Misericords Medieval Life in English Woodcarving: has dust jacket, unclipped, jacket has been secured to cover; The Picture of Cricket: has dust jacket, clipped, jacket taped on the front back for repair; Woodland Birds: has dust jacket, unclipped; Monumental Brasses: Has dust jacket, unclipped, discolouring on end pages; The Sculpture of the Parthenon: has dust jacket, unclipped.
