Saturday, 23 March 2013

New Penguins from an Unexpected Source









I have always believed that people are inherently good. Yes there are a few nasties who walk around out there but they don't seem to come into my area of life.  The other day as I sat at my computer I received a message from someone near Melbourne on the mainland who had read my blog.  Not only had she read it but she looked at my list of Penguin books I own in my collection. She then proceeded to tell me there was a big book sale happening near her and they seemed to have a lot of Penguin books.  She kindly wrote down 
the numbers on the spines along with the book titles and mailed them to me.  She asked me if I was interested in purchasing these books because they were going very cheaply. She had determined that I didn't own them already, she went to the post office and found out how much it would be to post the five books I was interested in.

I paid her through a bank transfer and they have now safely arrived.  Anne,I would like to say a great big thank you to you from both Travellin'Penguin and myself.


Such a lovely gesture. Three of them are Muriel Sparks books I didn't have. I quite enjoy Muriel's quirkiness but there are a couple of great covers as well. I am very pleased with such generosity.
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photo source   IMPERIAL  BOOKSHOP -HOBART, TASMANIA
Another happy Penguin story also occurred today.  I went into Imperial Books (second hand book shop) as I saw they had a sign out front stating "Stock Reduction Sale".  Can't go past that. Mike, one of the co-owners had set aside five Penguin Specials for me. I ordinarily don't seek out the specials.  They aren't usually books I would read as they are non fiction, very much out of date now and I do have to draw a line as to how many Penguin books I am prepared to buy in my life.

However when I saw these 5 Penguin Specials are from 1938 and 1939, in MINT condition, all of them with their dust jackets and pages as white today as when published. I can only guess they must have been stored in a very dark room for all these years or in a chest somewhere. For a 1939 paperback to be in such a pristine condition is unheard of generally in the world of Penguins in Australia. Remember they all had to travel here from Great Britain.


All of them relate to WWII and look really interesting. I may break my rule and actually read a bit of these but I am more than happy to keep them safe within my large collection.

The two below were also for sale and as I did not have first published copies of these I picked them up quite reasonably. All in all a very Penguiny time has been enjoyed.

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7 comments:

  1. Lisa23 March 2013 at 22:48

    I don't think I've ever seen a Penguin special, but those do look interesting. It does seem amazing sometimes how books not only survive but travel - I'd like to know more about their history.

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    1. Travellin' Penguin24 March 2013 at 18:30

      I often wonder about the history of some of the battered old Penguins I find. They must have passed through several hands over the past several decades. I guess now books can easily go around the world several times but when you think of these books published in the 30's and 40's find their way to Australia they must have come on ships.

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  2. Alex in Leeds24 March 2013 at 10:25

    I love the artwork on Robinson but the cover of the Joyce is *nothing* like I would have imagined. I do love seeing the old Penguin artwork, it so much more diverse than some of the modern covers with their stock photography and stereotypical font choice etc! Such a good haul, the shelves must be groaning at the seams. :)

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    1. Travellin' Penguin24 March 2013 at 18:28

      Yes some of the shelves do sag a bit. I love the black and white line drawings against the orange backdrop of quite a few of the old Penguins. I just wish I'd started collecting them when I was much younger so I'd have more years to read them. But then the shelves would probably have disintegrated. Nice to hear from you.

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  3. Anonymous25 March 2013 at 16:48

    I think the very vivid cover for 'Girls of Slender Means' is quite a spoiler in itself, for anyone not having read the story yet. Quite interesting though, to see how the choice for covers have changed over the years, from being too explicit sometimes, to being too abstract. Glad you had a good Penguiny time there, and also got to be the recipient of some unexpected kindness from strangers. :)

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    1. Travellin' Penguin25 March 2013 at 17:17

      I thought that myself about the cover of that book. I have not read it nor am I familiar with this particular book of hers. Thank you for appreciating my great Penguiny time. I like the word Penguiny I have decided. Good to hear from you Michelle.

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    2. Thomas Hogglestock26 March 2013 at 05:25

      Michelle, I absolutely agree. I was going to make that very comment. It gives too much away.

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