I remember having only two books when I was a child and they were both Girl's Own Annuals given to me by my Aunties at Christmas time. So, when I'm in an Op Shop, like I was this morning, I always look through the children's books section. I found for the tiny price of $1.00, this very collectible, antique hardcover, children's book by Lida, called Bourru: The Brown Bear, London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. fifth impression (circa 1947-49) ~ 35 pages. Translated from the French by Rose Fyleman, it contains color lithographs by Rojan (Feodor Rojankovsky (1891-1970) ~ Russian artist/illustrator, who made his name in France and America. He was also known for illustrating erotic French literature. The book has damage on the spine, but apart from that there's virtually no marks on it. It has obviously been well looked after for the past 62 years. The original selling price for this little book was 3 shillings and sixpence, and given that the average British worker only earned about 3 pound 18 shillings in 1948, this book would have cost 1/20th of their wage, equal to about $50 for a current wage earner. You can see that I've done a bit of research on this book since coming home today.
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Thursday, November 18, 2010
Bourru: The Brown Bear
I remember having only two books when I was a child and they were both Girl's Own Annuals given to me by my Aunties at Christmas time. So, when I'm in an Op Shop, like I was this morning, I always look through the children's books section. I found for the tiny price of $1.00, this very collectible, antique hardcover, children's book by Lida, called Bourru: The Brown Bear, London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. fifth impression (circa 1947-49) ~ 35 pages. Translated from the French by Rose Fyleman, it contains color lithographs by Rojan (Feodor Rojankovsky (1891-1970) ~ Russian artist/illustrator, who made his name in France and America. He was also known for illustrating erotic French literature. The book has damage on the spine, but apart from that there's virtually no marks on it. It has obviously been well looked after for the past 62 years. The original selling price for this little book was 3 shillings and sixpence, and given that the average British worker only earned about 3 pound 18 shillings in 1948, this book would have cost 1/20th of their wage, equal to about $50 for a current wage earner. You can see that I've done a bit of research on this book since coming home today.
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