Category Archives: 1950s

365Z: Gillette 1955 World Series Book

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Not exactly a children’s book, nevertheless it is one of the earliest books I remember reading, and it was certainly the first mail-order book I ever bought.
I heard this book being offered on the radio on a Gillette commercial, probably on a sports broadcast of some sort, sometime after the 1955 World Series had been played and probably before the 1956 baseball season was well underway. So sometime between late fall 1955 and early summer 1956. I would have been 7 years old at the time. I convinced my dad to write a check for $1 and send off to Gillette for the book. Received it shortly thereafter and spent a lot of time reading it in my misspent youth.
I can’t remember the exact title. Years ago I would have guessed it to be something like “The Gillette 1955 World Series Record Book”, but that is incorrect. There was a series of miniature books (3″ x 4″) published under the names “The Gillette 195x World Series Record Book” for 1953 and 1954. It was not in that series.
This book was almost certainly published by A. S. Barnes and Company. It was bright green hardcover (I don’t think it ever had a dust jacket) that was physically about the same format as their hardcover books “The 1955 Baseball Almanac” (Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 55 7189, dark green hardcover with dust jacket) and “The 1956 Baseball Almanac” (Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 43-5554, dark blue-green hardcover with dust jacket). In fact, 70-80% of the content was extracted from those two volumes, whence my inference that it must have been published by A. S. Barnes. The sections of the Baseball Almanacs that were repeated or similar in that book included ball club data (including all the ball park diagrams), how to keep score, and the rules of baseball.
In thickness, the 1955 World Series book I am looking for was about the same as or a little thinner that the 1956 Baseball Almanac and not as thick as the 1955 Baseball Almanac.
One major difference between the 1955 and 1956 Baseball Almanacs is that the 1955 version includes a section of photos in the middle of the book (including Willie Mays’ spectacular catch in the 1954 World Series). The 1955 World Series book I am looking for also had a photo section of highlights from the 1955 World Series. Specific photos that I recall were Jackie Robinson’s stealing of home in Game 1, Irv Noren’s shoestring catch in Game 5, and portraits of Casey Stengel and Walt Alston.
I’m also imagining that the 1955 World Series book I am looking for contains more descriptive material on the pennant race and the World Series and less material on club rosters for the upcoming season than the Almanacs.

365P: Memoir of Man Learning Southwest Culture in Santa Fe

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 I wish to identify a book from 1940’s or 1950’s (I think) that is a memoir by a man (family?) who moved to Santa Fe from elsewhere in US, and describes his learning about Southwest culture. Specifically, describes his learning about using acequia water for his lawn.

Title, as best as I remember, used some combination of  the  words Sunshine, Window, Kitchen, and/or Shoulder.

363C: Mystery by Italian Psychologist

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The book I’m trying to find was a mystery written by an Italian Psychologist. I believe he wrote three books, all mysteries with different modes of transportation as the setting (an airplane, a train, and a ship.) The book I’m looking for was the mystery on an airplane. The murder occurred during the flight and the killer was exposed during the end of the flight. The author being a psychologist introduced some of his psychological theories into the story and I believe that this was the purpose of the three books – to explain his theories.

The book was probably written prior to the 1960’s but after the 1920’s. The title was short. I’m not sure if all the books were translated into the English language.

I enjoyed the story and wish I wouldn’t have sold my copy (it was a nice English first edition.) If you need more details, I’ll try to recall what I can. Thank You and good luck.

363B: Bronze Age slave girl saves metal items to purchase her freedom

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I checked out this book from my school library when I was in upper elementary, 1971-1973, so the publishing date could be ’50s, ’60s, or early ’70s. I seem to remember a cream colored dust jacket, with black and white illustrations inside that resembled cave drawings. The girl kept her bits of metal under her pillow to keep them safe. I seem to remember a leader wearing a cloak pinned with metal and also wearing a torc around his neck. I don’t remember any psychic abilities or romance in the plot. It’s not “The Cave Twins” or “The Distant Lurs.” (I’ve gone through *most* of the queries until my eyes crossed. 😜) It might have been set in Britain, maybe another European country. She may have saved her owner’s clan by warning them of an imminent attack. And I think she was indeed able to purchase her freedom at the end of the story. Sorry, the details are very fuzzy but I checked the book out several times and loved it. (Probably one of the books that started my love for strong female characters.) Thanks in advance for your help! 

362Q: Old Fairytale Collection

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I am looking for a fairytale collection that I remember from my youth. My mom bought them for us in the 1950s and my stepmother has thrown them out. Sorry, I do not have the title. Here is what I remember: There was a set of three books. The cover was hard-bound and cream-colored. Each book had a small colored panel on the spine. One green, one red and one brown. I recall that they contained “The Princess and the Pea”, “Rapunzel” and “Rutabaga Tale” I would love to buy these treasured tomes if anyone has them.

362P: Pets Hold Surprise Birthday Party for Woman (Solved!)

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I have been looking for a book that was very important to me as a child that I lent to a friend and never was returned. It was about an older woman who lived alone with her pets , basically a picture book, the cover was a nighttime picture I believe of her house from a distance , as she was coming home to her animals , who had made her a birthday party to surprise her. It may have been called something like ‘the birthday party’, but I completely forget. I have been looking for many years for this book. No hits wherever I have searched, have tried all titles I could think of. Anyone? Probably 1950s.

362C: Timothy Tiger

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I’m writing on behalf of my father in law. He is welcoming a new grandchild soon and wants to find a book from his own childhood to give to the new baby. He says:
“I was born in 1951 and I was given a child’s book – I’m sure that Timothy Tiger was in the title and the story had something to do with gaining courage and some kind of deed that he performed by going out into a stormy night to find his courage. Any help you can provide will be most appreciated! Thank you”

361R: Portal Fantasy Novel for Kids

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I’m trying to find a book that I read when I was in elementary school.  Unfortunately, I don’t recall many helpful details about the book—including its title and author—but I do remember loving the book and recommending it to a non-reading friend who also loved it.  I would very much like to find it so that I can buy it for my daughter.

The following is all I can remember about the book:

–It is a portal fantasy novel about a boy and possibly also a girl who somehow enter another world in order to help save a troubled kingdom or land (not very unique, I know).

–The plot involves a castle, mountains, wolves, and a race against time.  Magical/mystical talking(?) wolves play a role in the book, from what I remember.  I believe they were either the antagonists or the servants of the antagonist.

–From what I remember of the cover, it has a white border or partial border around it with a colorful collage of images from the book against a dark background.  I believe that a castle, mountains, and wolves were all present in this cover collage.

–I checked out the book from my elementary school library when I was in either third or fourth grade, but I believe the target audience of the book is late elementary readers (4th to 6th grade?).

–I read this book in the mid-1980s (between 1983 and 1985?), so it was published prior to that.

–I do not think that it was recent publication at that time, though it wasn’t a very old book either.  My guess is that it was published between 1950 and 1985—probably in the 1970s.

–It is a fairly long chapter book (perhaps 200 to 300 pgs?).

–The copy I checked out from my library had a small trim size, but was fairly thick with small type.

–It was written and published in English, probably either from the U.S. or England.

–It is a stand-alone novel, not part of a longer series.

–I do not believe it is a well-known or famous book.  I have not, for example, run across it on lists of best fantasy novels of the 20th century.

–The title is strange, or, at the very least, not particularly appealing to an elementary school reader because I remember telling my non-reading friend to read it despite the odd title.

–I think the title might have the words in it like “nowhere,” “other,” “land,” or “world.”

–The letter “O” also stands out in my memory as an important part of the title.

361G: YA historical novel heroine Margaret Plantagenet of York, later Margaret Pole

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Young Adult historical novel about the childhood/teenage years of Margaret Plantagenet of York, who later became Margaret Pole, and her brother Ned (Edward, Duke of Warwick), at the end of the War of the Roses and beginning of the Tudor period.  It starts in the court of her uncle, Edward IV, after her father (George, Duke of Clarence) has been executed for treason, and ends with her brother’s execution and her romance with Reginald Pole.  My memory is that the heroine is known as Meggy or Peggy. I probably read this in the early 60s, but it might have been written in the 30s, 40s or 50s. I thought the author might be Elizabeth Janet Gray, Rosemary Sutcliffe, Margaret C. Leighton, or Elizabeth George Speare but can’t find anything that seems to match this story among their titles.