Format #2 - Leather Texture Binding An Explanation of Series Books

Format #2

Years Published: Early 1940s until about 1948
Height: Approximately 7½ inches
Width: Approximately 3/4 to 1 inch
Depth: Approximately 5 inches
Dust Jackets: Full-color paper
Endpapers: Heavy paper, single color art with shading

Page Tops: Single color topstain for most series

The second format had a paper binding textured like fine grained leather with a full color paper dust jacket. By this time Grosset & Dunlap had stopped putting a catalog of books on the inside of the dust jacket and also discontinued the list of series in the back of the book for the most part. The only advertisements were on the back of the dust jacket or on the inside right flap. The inside left flap, as usual, had either a list of books in the series or a story description for that particular volume. These books were considerably thinner because of WWII regulation paper. The paper was much thinner and was also lower quality so that it turned yellow quickly.

This book, while produced under
wartime conditions, in full com-
pliance with government regula-
tions for the conservation of paper
and other essential materials, is
COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED

After WWII, Grosset & Dunlap went back to using acid-free paper, but the paper was still much thinner than before the war. As before, the books came in several colors –– all the books in a series having the same color binding.


Pink Texture	Red Texture	Tan Texture	Green Texture	Blue Texture

Memorable Series Books Beginning in this Format

Helen Wells

One of the most recognized nurse series ever, Cherry Ames, began in 1943 with the publication of the first book in the series. The series eventually reached 27 titles, most by Helen Wells but several of the middle volumes by Julie Tatham

R. Sidney Bowen

The Red Randall series started in 1944 and lasted through WWII. It was one of the several series of "Thrill-Packed Air Combat Stories" written during the war.

Al Avery

Rutherford Montgomery under the pen name of Al Avery wrote nine Yankee Flier books during the war –– another famous "Air Combat" series.

John Blaine

One of the best written series ever, the Rick Brant series, started in 1947. It didn't end until close to twenty years later with a total of 23 books. (Note: a previously unpublished volume was printed by a small publisher in 1990 for a total of 24 volumes.) The first three volumes were co-authored by Hal Goodwin and Peter Harkins, with the rest written by Goodwin alone.

Betsy Allen

Betty Cavanna alias Betsy Allen began the Connie Blair series in 1948. An interesting idea for the series was that every title had a color in it, as advertised by Grosset & Dunlap.