Better Homes & Gardens Second Storybook

Title: Better Homes & Gardens Second Storybook

Date: 1952 (First edition)

Source: The Book Thing, Baltimore

Illustrators shown: Kate Greenaway; John Tenniel; Howard Pyle

Description

Hardcover collection of classic children’s tales accompanied by “curated” illustrations (i.e., not all the illustrations originally were found with the story they accompany). Published by the Meredith Company for Better Homes & Gardens.

Thoughts on the book

This book belonged, at one time (when?) to an Allen Lee Parsons. He wrote it all in block capitals, with no apparent spacing: ALLENLEEPARSONS was the boy’s name, and wow, did he actually own a cool book. Despite the fact that the Better Homes & Gardens publishing powerhouse of the day was probably so busy churning out title after title after title for everyone in the family except The Man Of The House, they did a decent job with this one.

Tenniel’s classic illustrations from “Alice” are, it’s true, paired with one of the stupidest poems on earth, “Father William” (the whole thing’s like playing the dozens, 1800’s style). But Kate Greenaway’s art nouveau illustrations for the “Pied Piper of Hamlin” manage to be both simple and beautiful, with real sensitivity in the lines. Greenaway was underappreciated and probably paid 25 cents on Maxfield Parrish’s dollar. Oh, and the layout is great. They had a wonderful designer (uncredited) who gave the stories enough white space and created an object which was clearly meant to be “read from” aloud, and cherished—as this copy appears to have been.

*Allen Lee Parsons has got to be between 50 and 65 or so; if the book were a hand me down, he may be younger, but if he was the first child to own it—and his proud printing in the front of this fairly pristine book indicates he was—he could be closer to my Mom’s age. My daughter did her best to Google him tonight, but “his name is too common!” she grumped before giving up. (“He could be a British man born in 1911…” she said. “I don’t think he would’ve been in his forties when he owned the book… maybe?” I tried picturing Allen Lee (or ALLENLEE as I came to think of him) as a forty year old man and could only imagine scenes from Rain Man and the movie Charley. So many versions of ALLENLEE to be potentiated, or not…)