ALPHABLOCK BOOKS by ERNEST, EDWARD

New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1943. Twenty-six miniature volumes, each measuring 3 by 3 inches (77x77mm), all housed within a 9 1/2-inch square box with printed upper cover. Each book has a brightly colored block letter on the upper cover, which is comprised of a piece of thick board, and with four simple words beginning with that letter on the back wrapper. The texts in most of the set contain an unconnected string of words, each of which is highlighted with a two-color illustration. For the letter B, the reader is treated to a little story about a bicycle ride; Clement Clark Moore's "The Night Before Christmas" is the text for the letter X, which, we are reminded, is the 24th letter of the alphabet; and a story about animals in the zoo serves as the contents for Z. The combination of the very structure of this set, coupled with war-era production constraints, undoubtedly contribute to the low survival rate for this title, known in only four institutional collections. Splits to lid and box sides,… Read More