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Big Little Books
Big Little Books
In 1932,
the Whitman Publishing Company of Racine, Wisconsin began publishing
Big Little Books. According to biglittlebooks.com, the books contained a large amount of reading
material and pleasure (big) in a small and compact (little) book
-- hence the unusual name.
The books were produced used excess paper trimmmed from magazines. -- paper that would otherwise have gone to waste. Since the stories in Big Little Books were often borrowed from popular comic strips, they could be produced at little or no additional cost to the publisher. Big Little Books typically contained text on the left side pages and a full-page illustration on the right. Illustrations were lifted from the related comic strips.
Whitman published several Big Little Books and other books written
by Zane Grey between 1935 and 1942. Most were under the title
King of the Royal Mounted, a compilation of earlier
comic strips centered around the character of Sergeant King, a Canadian Mountie who always got his man. They set
the standard for similar books by other publishers, such as Dell and Fawcett.
.
A Note on First Editions
First editions of these Big Little Books command
very high prices and are considered some of Zane Grey's rarest
works. Even reprints of these books command high prices and are
very uncommon.
For those who are interested in learning more about Big Little
Books, the website, biglittlebooks.com
is an excellent resource. On their website, you will find invaluable
information relative to the care of these paper collectibles and
a definitive description of what these books are.
Listing
of Big Little Books by Zane Grey
Publishing
data obtained from biglittlebooks.com. and other sources.
Cowboys of the West
Big Little Book
Tarzan Ice Cream Cup Premium
Whitman Publishing. 1935.
Standard size 4 1/4" x 3 1/2"; Illustrated
Author: Unknown
Artist: Unknown.
Details: This book featured a Tarzan Ice Cream
advertisement on the back cover. Distributed as a premium from Tarzan Ice Cream.
King of the Royal Mounted
Big Little Book
Cocomalt Premium
Whitman Publishing. 1935.
Standard size 4 1/4" x 3 1/2"; Illustrated
Author: Unknown
Artist: Unknown.
Details: Based on the comic by Zane Grey. Cocomalt
ads printed on rear cover and inside wrappers. Distributed as
a premium from Cocomalt.
 King
of the Royal Mounted
Big Little Book
No. 1103
Whitman Publishing. 1936. Hard cover.
Standard size 3 5/8" x 4 1/2" x 1 1/2"; 432 pages.
Author: Zane Grey and Romer Grey
Artist: Allen Dean
Details: The first KORM Big Little Book. Outline by Zane
Grey with text written by Romer Grey.
King of the Royal Mounted
and the Northern Treasure
Big Little Book
No. 1179
Whitman Publishing. 1937. Hard cover.
Standard size 3 5/8" x 4 1/2" x 1 1/2"; 432 pages
Author: Zane Grey and Romer Grey
Artist: Allen Dean and Charles Flanders.
Details: Flander's art starts on page 284. Previous art is by Dean.
Zane Grey's King of the Royal Mounted
in Arctic Law
Big Little Book
No. 1010
Whitman Publishing. 1937. Hard cover.
Standard size 5 9/16" x 7 3/8"
5 cent cover
Details: No information available.
Tex Thorne Comes Out of the West
Big Little Book
No. 1438
Whitman Publishing. 1937. Hard cover.
Standard size 3 5/8" x 4 1/2" x 1 1/2"; 432 pages.
Author: Romer Grey, son of Zane Grey.
Artist: Allen Dean.
Cover Artist: Hal Arbo.
King of the Royal Mounted Gets His Man
Big Little Book
No. 1452
Whitman Publishing. 1938. Hard cover.
Standard size 3 5/8" x 4 1/2" x 1 1/2"; 432 pages
Author: Zane Grey and Romer Grey
Artist: Allen Dean.
Details: Outline by Zane
Grey with text written by Romer Grey.
Fast Action Stories, Better Little Books,
and
Others by Zane Grey
In addition to Big Little Books, Whitman Publishing also printed Better Little Books, Penny Books and Buddy Books. Whitman Publishing's success spawned competition from other publishers. Dell Publishing produced Fast Action Stories, Large Feature Comics and Feature Books. Some of the Zane Grey titles produced by these publishers are listed below.
King of the Royal Mounted
Dell Large Feature Comic
(Formerly called "Black and White")
No. 9
Dell Publishing. 1936.
Standard size 11 1/4" x 9"
Author: Unknown
Artist: Unknown.
Details: This is more similar to a comic book than
a Big Little Book.
Numerous Zane Grey Comic Books have been produced and sold
in addition to the ones on this page. For information on Zane
Grey comic books,
click here.
King of the Royal Mounted
Feature Books
(Newspaper early issues)
No. 1
David McKay Publishing Co. 1937.
Standard size 11 1/4" x 9"
Author: Unknown
Artist: Unknown.
Details: This is more similar to a comic book than
a Big Little Book.
Numerous Zane Grey Comic Books have been produced and sold
in addition to the ones on this page. For information on Zane
Grey comic books,
click here.
King of the Royal Mounted
Policing the Frozen North
Dell Fast Action Story
Dell Publishing. 1938. Hard cover.
Standard size 4" by 5 1/4".; 192 pages
10 cent cover.
Details: No information
available.
King of the Royal Mounted
in the Far North
Whitman Buddy Book
Whitman Publishing. 1938. Soft Cover.
Details: This book was a Buddy Book, one of many
kinds of imitations and spin-offs of Big Little Books.
 King of the
Royal Mounted
and the Great Jewel Mystery
Better Little Book
No. 1486
Whitman Publishing. 1939. Hard cover.
Standard size 3 5/8" x 4 1/2" x 1 1/2"; 432 pages.
Author: Zane Grey and Romer Grey.
Artist: Allen Dean.
Details: Outline by Zane
Grey with text written by Romer Grey.
King of the Royal Mounted
in Law of the North
Whitman Penny Book
Whitman Publishing. 1939. Soft Cover.
Standard size 2 1/2" by 3 1/2"
Author: Unknown
Artist: Unknown.
Details: This book is a Penny Book, one of many
kinds of imitations and spin-offs of Big Little Books.
There is now evidence to support the basis that this Penny Book is the Buster Brown Premium giveaway. Buster Brown would apply stickers or a stamp to the back of this book indicating it was sponsored by Buster Brown.
King of the Royal Mounted
and the Long Arm of the Law
Better Little Book
No. 1405
Whitman Publishing. 1942. Hard cover.
Standard size 3 5/8" x 4 1/2" x 1 1/2"; 432 pages
Author: Unknown
Artist: Unknown.
Details: Adapted from the works of Zane Grey. Contains two flip-it features (Mounty stalks and captures a criminal; Mounty encounters a bear).
If you notice any errors regarding the information or cover illustrations on this page, or if you would like to provide additional details on the works listed, please contact the Society here: tbolinger@zgws.org
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Historical images of Zane Grey used with permission of Dr. Loren Grey
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