Frederick Warne & Co
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Contents |
[edit] Frederick Warne & Co
Frederick Warne was a publishing firm founded in 1865 by a bookseller, who gave his own name to the firm.
[edit] History
During the second half of the nineteenth century, Warne's firm had built a good reputation for publishing children's books, publishing illustrated books by well-known authors and artists as Edward Lea, Kate Greenaway and Walter Crane. Toward the end of the century, Frederick Warne had retired, and left the firm to his three sons, Harold, Fruing and Norman. Warne was among the six publishers whom Beatrix Potter submitted her first book, the story of a rabbit called Peter. The Tale Of Peter Rabbit. Like the other five firms, Warne turned the proposal down. But the people at the firm changed their minds, when they saw the privately published copy in 1901. They said they would publish the book, as long as the illustations were drawn in colour. The next year, Warne published THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT, and by Christmas it had sold 20,000 copies. This began a forty year partnership which saw the publication of twenty two additional little books. Beatrix Potter was engaged to marry Norman Warne, her editor and the youngest of the three Warne brothers. However, he died tragically in 1905, only a few weeks after their engagement. In 1983, Warne was bought by Penguin Books. It began developing classic book-based children's character brands. The merchandising program was expanded from a base of thirty-five licenses to more than four hundred by the late 1990's. Over the years, Warne aquired a variety of other classic books.
[edit] The Observer's Books
From 1937 to 2003, Warne published small, pocket sized books, which were avdiable on many subjects. The aim of these books were to interest the observer. They were called the Observer's books. These books were very popular amongst children. Over the past few years they have become very popular collector items. For the dedicated collector this could be a lifetime's work as there are over 800 variations, some of which are now very rare. The values of the books can vary from 50p to hundreds of pounds. They all include a variety of topics, which include hobbies, art, history, wildlife and many more. The earlier books were printed with paper dust covers up until 1969. These were good for printing but where not very practical because they were very delicate and were easy to rip and stain. From 1970, the covers were protected with a glossy coating. This helped the dust covers protection. These types are often refered to as Glossies. From the late 70's, Warne decided to laminate the covers to the actual books, so the books were highly protected as they didn't really have any covers. The first Observer guide was published in 1937, and was on the subject of British Birds. This is now very rare,and a mint copy with a dust cover is worth hundreds of pounds. The same year, Warne published a second book, on British Wild Flowers, a mint copy of this book is worth around £220. By 1941, Warne had published the first six Observer's books. In 1942, a special edition book was bought out on Airplanes. This book had no number in the series, as it was bought out to help people spot enemy planes during World War 2. Below I have included a list of all the Observer's books with the dates of there first editions.
[edit] List of Observer's Books
1 British birds - 1937
2 British wild flowers – 1937
3 British butterflies – 1938
4 Trees and shrubs of the British Isles – 1938
5 British wild animals – 1938
6 Freshwater fishes of the British Isles – 1941
7 British grasses sedges and rushes – 1942
Airplanes: 1942
8 Dogs – 1945
9 Horses and ponies – 1949
10 British geology – 1949
11 Aircraft – 1949
12 British ferns – 1950
13 British architecture – 1951
14 The larger British moths – 1952
15 Ships – 1952
16 Music – 1953
17 Common British insects and spiders – 1953
18 British birds eggs – 1953
19 Common fungi – 1954
20 Mosses and liverworts – 1954
21 Automobiles – 1955
22 Weather – 1955
23 Railway locomotives of Britain – 1955
24 Pond life – 1956
25 Garden flowers – 1956
26 Panting and graphic art – 1958
27 Cacti – 1957
28 Sea fishes – 1958
29 Flags – 1959
30 Cats – 1959
31 Sea and seashore – 1962
32 Astronomy – 1962
33 Lichens – 1963
34 Modern art – 1964
35 Furniture – 1964
36 Old English churches – 1965
37 Sculpture – 1965
38 Basic aircraft civil – 1967
39 Basic aircraft military – 1967
40 Commercial vehicles – 1959
41 Heraldry – 1966
42 Postage stamps – 1967
43 Cathedrals – 1972
44 Flowering trees and shrubs for gardens – 1972
45 Zoo animals – 1972
46 House plants – 1972
47 Association football – 1972
48 Manned space flight - 1972
49 Cricket – 1972
50 London – 1973
51 Pottery and porcelain – 1973
52 Unmanned space flight – 1974
53 Motor sport – 1975
54 European costume – 1975
55 British awards and medals – 1974
56 Ancient and Roman Britain – 1976
57 Sewing – 1975
58 Golf – 1975
59 Coarse fishing – 1975
60 Show jumping and eventing – 1976
61 Motorcycles – 1976
62 Glass – 1976
63 Tourist atlas of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – 1976
64 Small craft – 1976
65 Tropical fish – 1976
66 Farm animals – 1976
67 Vegetables – 1977
68 Fly fishing – 1977
69 Coins – 1977
70 Seashells of the British Isles – 1977
71 Fossils – 1977
72 Pets – 1978
73 The Cotswolds and Shakespeare country – 1978
74 Lake district – 1978
75 Firearms – 1978
76 Jazz – 1978
77 Big bands – 1978
78 Castles – 1979
79 Caterpillars – 1979
80 Rocks and minerals – 1979
81 Tennis – 1981
82 Sea fishing – 1980
83 Devon and Cornwall – 1980
84 Roses – 1980
85 Herbs – 1980
86 Country houses – 1980 – NOT PUBLISHED
87 Folk song – 1980
88 Silver – 1980
89 Tanks and other armoured vehicles – 1981
90 Victoriana – 1981
91 World atlas – 1981
92 Vintage cars and pre–war classics – 1982
93 Classic cars after 1945 – 1982
94 Paris – 1982
95 Canals – 1982
96 Gardens of Britain Ireland and Wales – 1982
97 Kitchen antiques – 1982
98 Opera – 1982
99 Observers books – 1982?
100 Wayside and woodland - 2003
