THE PAPERBACK PYRAMID FLYING JACKET REPRINTS

 

PAGE FOUR OF EIGHT

 

 

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PUBLISHED SIX OF THE PYRAMID HARDBACKS IN PAPER WRAPPERS RATHER THAN THE HARDBACK COVERS.

THEY WERE THE FIRST BIGGLES PAPERBACKS.

THEY CAN BE SEEN HERE.

 

I have all six in my collection, but, unfortunately, only five have their dust wrappers.

NB – “South Seas” and “Secret Agent” have printing plates dated 1940 but the book titles on the back of their jackets include “Biggles in the Jungle” published May 1942, so they were probably published in 1942.  These two books do NOT have the distinctive “pyramid” motive on the front of the covers but because of their similarity with the other four Oxford paperbacks they are included.  “Souths Seas” is around 5 mm taller and wider in terms of breadth (as opposed to being thicker) than the other five paperback books. 

 

 

 

BIGGLES IN THE SOUTH SEAS

 PAPERBACK

Plates say printed 1940 by John Johnson

Price on dust wrapper 2/6

Colour frontispiece

Width 29 mm

One asterix (*) on the half title

Book has no flyleaf but opens to the half title

 

 

Note how this book did NOT have the distinctive pyramid motive on the front cover.

 

 

 

BIGGLES – SECRET AGENT

 PAPERBACK

Plates say printed 1940 by John Johnson

Price on dust wrapper 2/6

Colour frontispiece

Width 30 mm

One asterix (*) on the half title

Book has no flyleaf but opens to the half title

 

 

 

Note how this book did NOT have the distinctive pyramid motive on the front cover.

 

 

BIGGLES FLIES EAST

 PAPERBACK PYRAMID

Plates say reprinted 1941 by the

Garden City Press Ltd

Price on dust wrapper 2/6

Colour frontispiece

Width 25 mm

No asterix on the half title

This book does have a flyleaf before the half title and appears to be the only one of the six to do so

 

 

 

 

BIGGLES FLIES WEST

 PAPERBACK PYRAMID

Plates say reprinted 1941 by

Richard Clay and Company Ltd

Price on dust wrapper unknown

Colour frontispiece

Width 27 mm

The letter “R” appears on the half title

Book has no flyleaf but opens to the half title

 

BIGGLES FLIES SOUTH

 PAPERBACK PYRAMID

Plates say reprinted 1941 by

Richard Clay and Company Ltd

Price on dust wrapper unknown

Colour frontispiece

Width 28 mm

The letter “I” appears on the half title

Book has no flyleaf but opens to the half title

BIGGLES FLIES NORTH

 PAPERBACK PYRAMID

Plates say reprinted 1941 by

Richard Clay and Company Ltd

Price on dust wrapper unknown

Colour frontispiece

Width 27 mm

No asterix on the half title

Book has no flyleaf but opens to the half title

 

 

 

 

Biggles in the South Seas is an unusual edition, being the odd one out in this collection.

 

You can see from the picture to the right how it is approximately half a cm taller than the other books – and approximately half a cm wider (in terms of breadth rather than wider in the spine).

 

 

 

Above is the “Flying Jacket” dust wrapper for the paperback version of

“Biggles Flies East”.

It is priced at 2/6 (two shillings and sixpence) – so more expensive than the 2 shilling hardback pyramid edition.  The book lists 17 Biggles books to “Biggles in the Jungle” published in May 1942.  The title is in the same four-line font but interestingly the word “Biggles” is on the top line with “Flies East” on the second line.  This differs from the blue pyramid DJ (left) from 1937 where “Biggles Flies” were on the top line with “East” on the second line and that confirms that this dust jacket was especially printed for this paperback edition.  For comparison I also show the thick black font of the 1948 reprint DJ (right).  Note the darker background.

 

 

BIGGLES FLIES SOUTH HAD A DIFFERENT REAR COVER AS SEEN ABOVE.

The other books had the same rear cover as EAST

(although “Biggles Flies West” did not have “Biggles in the Jungle” listed on the back)

 

 

 

 

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