[King Penguin Books]

£1,250 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

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

• Year: 1939

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