HOW TO IDENTIFY THE FIRST EDITIONS OF THE JOHN
HAMILTON BOOKS – ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS
The dust wrapper I have for ‘The Black Peril’
is a genuine John Hamilton dust wrapper – but, sadly, the dust jackets on the
other books are merely reproductions
Through my web sites, I am often asked for assistance
with identifying first editions of the John Hamilton books.
I am lucky enough to have the first five John Hamilton
Biggles book in first edition – after twelve years of collecting – so I have
photographed the books and set out information to assist other collectors.
I certainly don’t claim that all the information I
give here is absolutely 100% correct – particularly details as to exact
measurements of books.
If you measure the width of a book and squeeze you can
reduce the measurements considerably!
I would welcome any advice, observations and
corrections from other Biggles collectors out there. I can be e-mailed from the link at the bottom
of my main page.
Just click on the picture of the individual book BELOW
to find out the first edition information.
I hope you find it of interest and assistance.
I have tried to create the sort of web page I would
have wanted to find when I started collecting ……..
Roger Harris
August 2012
PS - I visited the Bodleian Library in Oxford on 2nd
October 2019 and took my own photos of the dimensions of the original first
edition Hamiltons – information on the spine widths
are below – with photos.
HOW TO IDENTITY A
FIRST EDITION OF “THE CAMELS ARE COMING”
HOW TO IDENTITY A
FIRST EDITION OF “THE CRUISE OF THE CONDOR”
HOW TO IDENTITY A
FIRST EDITION OF “BIGGLES OF THE CAMEL SQUADRON”
HOW TO IDENTITY A
FIRST EDITION OF “BIGGLES FLIES AGAIN”
HOW TO IDENTITY A
FIRST EDITION OF “THE BLACK PERIL”
THE JOHN HAMILTON BIGGLES BOOKS - SPINE WIDTHS
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE WIDTH OF THE BIGGLES FIRST
EDITIONS
BL = Information from the British Library collected by
Jeff Riley in BFM No. 1. RB = Ross
Burnet
RJH – Information gathered in person by myself from
the original first editions at the Bodleian Library in Oxford
1. THE CAMELS ARE COMING (1932)
BL says 30 millimetres. RB doesn't refer to it so it was presumably
unknown.
RJH – The first edition in the Bodleian Library in
Oxford was 32 millimetres
My FIRST EDITION is 32 mm wide at the spine and 30 mm
wide at the corners
2. THE CRUISE OF THE CONDOR (1933)
BL says 50 millimetres. RB says 6 cm (60 mm). That must be an error?!
RJH – The first edition in the Bodleian Library in
Oxford was 48 millimetres
My FIRST EDITION is 50 mm wide at the spine and 50 mm
wide at the corners
3. BIGGLES OF THE CAMEL SQUADRON (1934)
BL says 40 millimetres. RB doesn't refer to it so it was presumably
unknown.
RJH – The first edition in the Bodleian Library in
Oxford was 43 millimetres
My FIRST EDITION is 43 mm wide at the spine and 40 mm
wide at the corners
4. BIGGLES FLIES AGAIN (1934)
BL says 40 millimetres. RB doesn't refer to it so it was presumably
unknown.
RJH – The first edition in the Bodleian Library in
Oxford was 37 millimetres
My FIRST EDITION is 40 mm wide at the spine and 37 mm
wide at the corners
5. THE BLACK PERIL (1935)
BL says 35 millimetres. RB doesn't refer to it so it was presumably
unknown.
RJH – The first edition in the Bodleian Library in
Oxford was 35 millimetres
My FIRST EDITION is 35 mm wide at the spine and 35 mm
wide at the corners
THE OXFORD BIGGLES BOOKS - SPINE WIDTHS
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE WIDTH OF THE BIGGLES FIRST
EDITIONS
JT = John Trendler's
chart. RB = Ross Burnet's Biggles
bibliography
The thickness given below is for the first edition.
A number of the books were then reprinted as
"thick" "medium" and "thin" editions.
Thick being 1.85" or 46.99 mm. Medium being 1.50 inches or 38.10 mm.
Thin being 1.00 inches or 25.40 mm. Pyramid reprints were 1.50 inches or 38.10
mm.
1. BIGGLES FLIES EAST (1935)
JT says 1.9 inches (which is 48.26 millimetres). RB says 48 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 48 mm wide at the spine and 46 mm
wide at the corners
2. BIGGLES HITS THE TRAIL (1935)
JT says 1.9 inches (which is 48.26 millimetres). RB says 48 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 48 mm wide at the spine and 48 mm
wide at the corners
3. BIGGLES & CO (1936)
JT says 1.9 inches (which is 48.26 millimetres). RB says 48 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 50 mm wide at the spine and 46 mm
wide at the corners
4. BIGGLES IN AFRICA (1936)
JT says 1.9 inches (which is 48.26 millimetres). RB says 48 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 48 mm wide at the spine and 44 mm
wide at the corners
5. BIGGLES - AIR COMMODORE (1937)
JT says 1.9 inches (which is 48.26 millimetres). RB says 48 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 48 mm wide at the spine and 44 mm
wide at the corners
6. BIGGLES FLIES WEST (1937)
JT says 1.9 inches (which is 48.26 millimetres). RB says 48 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 48 mm wide at the spine and 44 mm
wide at the corners
7. BIGGLES FLIES SOUTH (1938)
JT says 1.9 inches (which is 48.26 millimetres). RB says 48 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 48 mm wide at the spine and 44 mm
wide at the corners
8. BIGGLES GOES TO WAR (1938)
JT says 1.9 inches (which is 48.26 millimetres). RB says 48 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 48 mm wide at the spine and 46 mm
wide at the corners
9. BIGGLES IN SPAIN (1939)
JT says 1.9 inches (which is 48.26 millimetres). RB says 48 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 48 mm wide at the spine and 46 mm
wide at the corners
10. THE RESCUE FLIGHT (1939)
JT says 1.9 inches (which is 48.26 millimetres). RB says 48 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 46 mm wide at the spine and 46 mm
wide at the corners
11. BIGGLES FLIES NORTH (1939)
JT says 1.9 inches (which is 48.26 millimetres). RB says 48 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 46 mm wide at the spine and 45 mm
wide at the corners
12. BIGGLES - SECRET AGENT (1940)
JT says 1.7 inches (which is 43.18 millimetres). RB says 43 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 46 mm wide at the spine and 45 mm
wide at the corners
13. BIGGLES IN THE BALTIC (1940)
JT says 1.7 inches (which is 43.18 millimetres). RB says 43 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 45 mm wide at the spine and 44 mm
wide at the corners
14. BIGGLES IN THE SOUTH SEAS (1940)
JT says 1.8 inches (which is 45.72 millimetres). RB says 46 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 46 mm wide at the spine and 43 mm
wide at the corners
15. BIGGLES DEFIES THE SWASTIKA (1941)
JT says 1.7 inches (which is 43.18 millimetres). RB says 43 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 46 mm wide at the spine and 45 mm
wide at the corners
16. BIGGLES SEES IT THROUGH (1941)
JT says 1.7 inches (which is 43.18 millimetres). RB says 43 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 48 mm wide at the spine and 45 mm
wide at the corners
17. SPITFIRE PARADE (1941)
JT says 1.6 inches (which is 40.64 millimetres). RB says 41 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 42 mm wide at the spine and 42 mm
wide at the corners
18. BIGGLES IN THE JUNGLE (1942)
JT says 1.0 inches (which is 25.40 millimetres). RB says 25 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 26 mm wide at the spine and 25 mm
wide at the corners
19. BIGGLES - CHARTER PILOT (1943)
JT says 0.85 inches (which is 21.59 millimetres). RB says 22 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 22 mm wide at the spine and 22 mm
wide at the corners
20. BIGGLES IN BORNEO (1943)
JT says 0.7 inches (which is 17.78 millimetres). RB says 18 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 18 mm wide at the spine and 16 mm
wide at the corners
THE BIGGLES
OMNIBUS
JT says 2.3 inches (which is 58.42 millimetres). RB says 58 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 60 mm wide at the spine and 52 mm
wide at the corners
THE BIGGLES
FLYING OMNIBUS
JT says 2.25 inches (which is 57.15 millimetres). RB says 57 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 57 mm wide at the spine and 52 mm
wide at the corners
THE THIRD
BIGGLES OMNIBUS
JT says 2.25 inches (which is 57.15 millimetres). RB says 57 mm.
My FIRST EDITION is 57 mm wide at the spine and 52 mm
wide at the corners
RETURN TO THE MAIN BIGGLES PAGE AT BIGGLES.COM OR RETURN TO W.E. JOHNS.COM