Valentine & Sons Ltd

Books Published

Rose Library Series

Small Booklets

As well as selling photographs, then postcards, Valentine & Sons Ltd published a range of small booklets of their views.

They also, published other books,  some with illustrations for children, but no photographs.

Thank you to Barbara Walkden, Toronto, Ontario, Canada for telling me about this book in the Rose LIbrary series.  It was presented to her mother in 1924:

-  Selections from Shakespeare (268 pages, 16 illustrations).

Question 1

More Valentine Books

The message above was the first of many e-mails sent to me about books published by Valentine & Sons Ltd.   See the table at the bottom of this page.

Do you know of any more books published in this series.  If so, please e-mail me so that I can add the details to this web site.

Question 2

If you have any knowledge of books published by Valentine, then you may be able to help answer this question below.

Mark Catley wrote:

If you can help answer the question above, please e-mail me.

Thank you.    - Peter Stubbs

Question 3

Maurean Jorgensen-Allan wrote:

Books Published by Valentine & Sons Ltd

"I am doing my family tree and the name JOHN ALLAN has come up.  His occupation states he retired as Editor in Chief of Valentines Publishers.  He was born in 1876 in Dundee. 

He wrote poetry and had some poems published and I would like to know the name of the book.  As he was a publisher, I would expect the the books to have been published by Valentine. 

Any information would be great.  He was also a water colour painter and I have two of those pictures."

Maurean Jorgensen-Allan, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia:  March 9, 2008

If you can help to answer the question above, please email me, then I'll pass on your message to Maureen.

Thank you.  - Peter Stubbs:  March 9, 2008

Reply

Elaine Mason wrote:

"John Allan was my grandfather.  My mother, Margaret, is still alive, age 94.  She is an Allan by birth.

The water colour painter was in fact his son, John Allan Junior.  I have a large collection of his works."

Elaine Mason, Norwich, Norfolk:  April 25, 2008.

Libraries

National Library of Scotland

I have checked the National Library of Scotland catalogue and found a number of books, published by Valentine & Sons Ltd.

Most but not all of these include photographs by Valentine & Sons.  I have included these books in the table below.

St Andrews University Library

St Andrews University LIbrary acquired the archive of Valentine monochrome post cards when Valentine ceased trading.  It also has a few etchings of St Andrews and a few books, all published by Valentine.

The library also has a number of books published by Valentine.  These are currently being catalogued by Pam Cranston.  Thank you Pam for sending me your provisional list of Valentine books catalogued to date.  I have included these books in the table below.

Books Published by

Valentine & Sons Ltd

 in collections

Title

Publ.

Abbotsford  12 photos for your album

1900

Aberdeen Again (Allan Junior) -  compiler of
Canny Tales from Aberdeen , The Aberdeen Jew, etc., etc.

36 pages, brown cover with gold leaf

Illustrations by D C Eyles [undated, but appear to have been done in 1928  -  Marc McNulty:  March 15, 2007]

?

Priv
(NB, Can)

Canny Tales fae Aberdeen

(i) [23rd edition] - jokes & humorous stories

(ii) [13th edition]

(iii) Front cover embossed with gold writing

(i) 1930
(ii) May 1926

Mair Canny Tales fae Aberdeen

Front cover embossed with gold writing

?

Priv (Dum)

Dundee 1947
Presented by Valentine & Sons Ltd to members of the British Association as a souvenir of their visit to Dundee.

1947

Killarney

1900

The Lady of the Lake

The owner of this book writes:

"Neither the cover, the spine nor the title page of the book list the author, but it is undoubtedly Sir Walter Scott's six cantos of poetry. 

There are twelve illustrations among the 192 pages  measuring 9 1/2 cm x 12 1/2 cm. 

The cover is a red, blue, gold and white plaid padded cloth that appears to have been very well preserved in a heavy clear cellophane wrap. 

The inscription inside the book reads that it was bought on Aug 17 ~25, at Lake Katrine, Scotland.

If you or your contacts know anything more about this book, would you please let me know?"

If you can provide any more information, please e-mail me.

  Thank you.  - Peter Stubbs  November 29, 2007

<1926

Merrie England in Verse and Pictures (Allan Junior)

©

?

Scottish Wit & Humour - humorous short stories + poems

1908

The Aberdeen Jew (Allan Junior)
illustrations by Gregor McGregor, 36pp

1927

To Fairy Dell

?

Photographic View Albums

Photographic view album of Alva and district

1890

Photographic view album of Falkland and district

1910

Photographic view album of Girvan

1900

Photographic view album of Gourock and district

1900

Photographic view album of West Kilbride and district

1895

Valentine & Sons Series of

Calotype View Books

Edinburgh   (16 views 6ins x 4ins, hard red cover 8ins x 6ins)

©    ©

Photographs of Scotland (other)

Magic West:  Highlands & Islands of Western Scotland
36camera studies in sepia tone reproduced from exclusive copyright negatives.

1930

Photographic views of Mauchline

1880

Photographs of views of Scotland and Scottish People

1890

Photographs, Scottish scenery

1870

Photographic view album of Inverkeithing and North Queensferry

c.1900

©

©

   ©

no date

but I've seen another copy dated 1934

Children's Books

[I don't know which series]

Beauty and the Beast

Babes in the Wood
Published by Valentine & Sons, Dundee, London, Montreal.
The owner has asked who the author was, and what is the value of this book..

Canny Tales from Aberdeen
 compiled by Allan Junior, Illustrated by Gregor McGregor.

Now You Tell One
stories of Irish wit and humour by George A Birmingham

The Cow

Dick Whittington

The Doll's House

©   ©

The Elephant

Hansel & Gretel

Jack the Giant Killer

The Horse

The Lucky White Rabbit

A book in the shape of a rabbit

Noah's Ark

Rock-a-Bye-Baby
Mabel Lucie Attwell,  No author,   A cut-out shaped book made of hard cardboard, approx 7-8 pages.

Sister Susie and the Twins
Mabel Lucie Attwell,  No author.  A cut-out shaped book made of hard cardboard with approx 7-8 pages.

Stories
told by Sir James Taggart

Taffy Tales from Walsh Wales
 compiled by C W Miles, Illustrated by Harry Low

The Tale of Little Priscillia Purr

The Tale of Peter Pusskin

The Tale of Tabby Twins

The Tale of the Naughty Kitty Cat  (illustrations by Louis Wain)

Please e-mail me if you have a copy of this book.  The owner of this  book hopes to repair it but needs to know what is written on the spine.

Thank you to Katharine who replied from Lytham St Annes, saying "I don’t have the title mentioned, but another in the series – The Tale of the Tabby Twins. In answer to your question, it is only the title that is written on the spine.

1924
or 1927

'Do You Know' books

"Valentine's Toy Books are children's Joy Books"

Motor Cars  -  B613

?

British Wild Birds  -  B616

?

British Wild Flowers  -  B614

©    ©

?

Wild Animals  -  B615

?

Toys Dolly Series

British Patent #1131

Black Sambo  -  B219

Thank you to Yvonne Cain, now living in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia for telling me about many editions of Black Sambo' from other publishers, published at various dates from 1899 to 1971!

Yvonne added: "My son was given the book in 1973 and read it to his children and they loved it, but it's probable not the book to read nowadays.  This book was by Helen Bannerman."

Gem Selection

Songs of Ireland
illustrated from drawings by J F O'Hea and John Carey
with historical and bibliographical annotations by C F Conin.

Karen Cranford who told me about this book wrote:

"I'm interested in learning the history of the book, it's publishing date and if there are any other copies or reprints. I'm also interested in restoring the book as it has family history behind it. Any information kindly welcomed."     -  Karen Cranford, May 28, 2008

If you think you might be able to answer any of Karen's questions, please email me then I'll pass your message on to her.    Thank you.    - Peter Stubbs:  May 31, 2008.

Golden Thoughts

Little Psalms of the Months (Margaret Kent)  -  GT 618       3.5ins x 5 ins

©     ©

Sweetheart o' Mine (Allan Junior) -  GT 610

Inscribed from the owner's mother by the owner's father:  December 1945.

Priv (London)

The owner of another copy of this book wrote that the book was sent to her grandfather by her grandmother.

 She believes this would have been around the time of their marriage in 1920.

Priv
(Birmingham)

My Garden and Other Verses (Allan Junior)  -  GT 6058     3.5ins x 5 ins

©    ©

Verses by Allan Junior (Margaret Kent)   -  GT 4

©     ©

Thank you to George Smith, British Columbia, Canada who wrote:

"I wonder if Allan Junior is a nom de plume? -  A catchall term for someone editing a variety of contributors perhaps?

Your site has some reference to an 'Allan Junior', a painter"

George added:

"Looking at the cover brought to mind my first ventures into reading.  The style is reminiscent of books I read or had read  to me in the 1930s.

We could not afford the 1st editions, so this series might date from the 1920s."

George Smith: Aug 4+5, 2008

Verses to Mother (Margaret Kent)   -  GT 628
(H Trevelyan-Thomson (Illus. Anne Rochester)

©     ©

Rose Series

Selections from Shakespeare (268 pages, 16 illustrations)

<1925

Selections from Poems, Ballads and Sonnets of William Wordsworth (12 illustrations) Shakespeare

?

Selections of poems, ballads and sonnets from William Wordsworth, No2 (12 illustrations)

?

Shire Series

Picturesque Forfarshire  -  32 Photogravures + county map

?

Picturesque Perthshire  -  40 Photogravures + county map

?

Valentine Chummy Books  [no photos]

The Chummy Book of Little Ships  -  CB2/7

1945

The Chummy Book of Fairy Stories  -  CB2/10

?

The Little ABC Book of Birds  -  CB3/19

1945

Mothers and Babies  (These were animals + birds ) - CB3/23

1943

The Story of Cyril the Squirrel  -  CB3/25

1943

The Story of the Brownie Family  -  CB3/27

1943

Our Wonderful Railways  -  CB3/28

1944

Billy and Betty  -  CB4/20

1944

Plain Sailing for Little Learners  -  CB4/31

?

The Chummy Animal Book  -  CB4/32

1945

The Chummy ??? Book  -  CB4/33

1945

The Happy Days Painting and Lettering Book  -  CB4/37

1945

Valentine chummy books  [Which ones?]

1943

A Trip to ABC Land  -   CB43 No photos.

?

Busybodies in Poems and Pictures   -  CB44.

a.1948

Valtay Books  [no photos]

The numbers suggest that these may also
be part of the Chummy Books series

Ships Past and Present  -   CB4/30

a.1946?

The Happy Days Painting and Lettering Book  -  CB4/37

1945

My Favourite Farm Book   -  CB6/40

a.1947

NOTES

St A = St Andrews University Library

NLS = National Library of Scotland. (a. = year that the book was acquired by NLS)

The NLS catalogue also includes:

-  a number of books by James Valentine, published 1870 to 1900

-  postcards and photographs by Valentine & Sons Ltd and by James Valentine.

Priv = Private Collection

Dum=Dumfries, Ed=Edinburgh, Lon = London, LSA=Lytham St Annes, Sun=Sunderland, Warr = Warrington,  Wrex=Wrexham, Yeo=Yeovil

NB, Can = New Brunswick, Canada,  NF, Can = Newfoundland, Canada,

IN= Indiana, KS = Kansas,  NV = Nevada,  NY = New York, OR=Oregon,
SC=South Carolina,  TX=Texas

Other Items produced by Valentine

Valentine & Sons Ltd are also known to have produced sets of playing cards.  And what else?  When?

Valentine & Sons Ltd