Gloucester Joe

New York: The Junior Literary Guild and Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1943. Cloth. Near fine/very good +. Junior Literary Guild edition [a children’s book club]. 4to; 30, [1]pp; red stamped vignette of sailing schooner to blue cloth over board; color pictorial endpapers of a harbor with sailing vessels, gift inscription in neat ink to front pastedown dated 1944; color pictorial title page; 18 color illustrations; light age-toning of paper; unclipped color pictorial dust jacket lacking price, light chipping head & tail of spine, age-toning of paper, light soiling to rear panel; near fine in very good plus dj. The story of a young boy’s visit to Gloucester (truncated) [Massachusetts], and his adventures on the waterfront. This book gained the attention of The Junior Literary Guild, now called the Junior Library Guild, it was founded in 1929 as part of the Literary Guild. The Junior Literary guild was a commercial book club of selections for children. For many years, Eleanor Roosevelt sat on its board and was active in book selection. Printed during wartime, the rear panel of the dust jacket features a drawing of the Statue of Liberty standing on books, with 2 children reading at her feet. An address to children reads, “Citizen Soldiers—Buy War Stamps. Collect Scrap. Join the Junior Red Cross.”. (Inventory #: 1047)