THE FAMOUS FIVE SERIES: THE MYSTERY OF THE 3 EXTRA FIRST EDITION DUSTWRAPPERS. PART 3
PART 3 THE DOUBLE BLOCK (DB) REPRINT DUSTWRAPPERS
When all 23 dustwrappers were examined in detail, it soon became evident that a significant number of inconsistencies were present. To reproduce this research here would be too long and detailed for the purposes of this article so, as a compromise, only selected examples will be described. Note that with some examples, the first edition dustwrappers are included to provide a complete picture of the DB era.
ABOVE, left to right: Figures 32 - 35
Example 1:
Figures 32: Five Go Adventuring Again 3rd imp. 1948
Figure 33 - Five Go Adventuring Again 4th imp.1949
The arrows show that ANNE is correctly spelled on the 3rd impression front flap but is incorrectly spelled on the next reprint. Note that for the 1949 reprint the book erroneously states 3rd impression instead of 4th impression.
Example 2: All DB dustwrappers
The following 5 inconsistencies can be found on the rear panel of the 29 DB dustwrappers. Refer to arrows 1-5 on Figures 34 - 35 above.
KEY
1 = Horizontal bar is short (34millimetres) or long (41 millimetres)
2 = Capital or lower case 'b' in the wordbooks
3 = Comma / no comma after the word characters
4 = Presence / absence of the word new before story
5 = Comma / no comma after the word exploits
The following table gives a clear indication of the level of inconsistency that occurred during 1948-51:
|
FF Title No.
|
Edition / Impression
|
Year
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
||
|
34mm
|
41mm
|
B
|
b
|
comma
|
New
|
comma
|
|||
|
1
|
5
6 7 |
1948
1949 1950 |
Yes |
Yes
Yes Yes |
Yes
Yes Yes |
No
No No |
Yes
Yes Yes |
||
|
2
|
3
4 5 |
1948
1949 1950 |
Yes
Yes Yes |
Yes
Yes Yes |
Yes
Yes Yes |
No
No No |
Yes
Yes Yes |
||
|
3
|
2
3 4 |
1948
1949 1950 |
Yes
Yes Yes |
Yes |
Yes
Yes |
No
No No |
Yes
Yes Yes |
No
No No |
|
|
4
|
2
3 4 5 |
1948
1949 1950 1951 |
Yes
Yes Yes Yes |
Yes
Yes Yes Yes |
Yes
Yes Yes Yes |
No
Yes Yes Yes |
Yes
Yes Yes Yes |
||
|
5
|
2 |
1948
1949 1950 |
Yes
Yes Yes |
Yes
Yes Yes |
Yes
Yes Yes |
No
No No |
Yes
Yes Yes |
||
|
6
|
3
4 5 |
1949
1950 1951 |
Yes
Yes Yes |
Yes
Yes Yes |
Yes
Yes Yes |
Yes
Yes Yes |
Yes
Yes Yes |
||
|
7
|
1-V1
1-V2 2 3 |
1948
1948 1949 1950 |
Yes
Yes Yes Yes |
Yes
|
Yes
Yes Yes |
No
No No No |
Yes
Yes Yes Yes |
No
No No No |
|
|
8
|
1-V1
1-V2 2 |
1949
1949 1950 |
Yes
Yes Yes |
Yes
|
Yes
Yes |
No
No No |
Yes
Yes Yes |
No
No No |
|
|
9
|
1-V1
1-V2 2 |
1950
1950 1951 |
Yes
Yes Yes |
Yes
Yes Yes |
Yes
Yes Yes |
No
No No |
Yes
Yes Yes |
||
EXAMPLE 3: Five Go Off To Camp 1st ed. 1948 (Version 1) and Five Run Away Together 2nd imp. 1948.
One inconsistency previously described between Versions 1 and 2 of the first edition of Five Go Off To Camp is the spacing between the two 'L's in the word full on the rear panel. When all 29 DB dustwrappers are compared, 27 have narrow spacing between the two 'L's and only two (see titles above) have a wider space.
ABOVE, left to right: Figure 36 - 39
Figure 36 Five On A Treasure Island 6th imp. 1949
Figure 37 Five Go To Smuggler's Top 4th Imp. 1950
EXAMPLE 4: Five On A Treasure Island 6th and 7th imps. (1949 and 1950) and Five Go Adventuring Again 4th and 5th imps. (1949 and 1950).
Two inconsistencies are unique to these 4 reprints and occur on the rear flap. One example of the 4 dustwrappers and one example from the other 25 DB dustwrappers are shown for comparison. Compare Figure 36 Five On A Treasure Island 6th imp. 1949 (left) with Figure 37 Five Go To Smuggler's Top 4th Imp. 1950 (right).
Inconsistency 1: In the description of Five Go Off In A Caravan the word circus is used. For the 4 dustwrappers the first letter 'c' in circus is printed as a capital letter (see arrow 1). All the other 25 DB dustwrappers have the first 'c' printed in lower case (see arrow 2).
Inconsistency 2: the last line of the rear flap begins 6/- net .
No comma is used after the word net for the 4 dustwrappers (see arrow 3) but one is used on the other 25 dustwrappers (see arrow 4).
EXAMPLE 5: All DB dustwrappers (Figures 38 & 39 above)
Two further inconsistencies can be found on the rear flap of the 29 DB dustwrappers.
KEY
1 = Colon / no colon after
2 = Full stop / no full stop after
When all 29 DB dustwrappers were compared, the following results were obtained:
|
Number Of Dustwrappers
|
|
|
Colon
|
8
|
|
No Colon
|
21
|
|
Full Stop
|
15
|
|
No Full Stop
|
14
|
At this point it has now been established that a wide variety of inconsistencies are present in the 29 DB dustwrappers. So, are the inconsistencies unique to the DB era or are they also present in the SB and new-style dustwrappers?
(Published 2nd Mar 2014)
