De La More Press (Alexander Moring Ltd.) (London, UK)
Series dates: 1902-1925, New Issue: 1935
Size: 3.75″ x 6″
The somewhat obscure (or at least undocumented) Alexander Moring Ltd. and the De La More Press began publishing in 1902. See the entry on The King’s Classics for more historical information on Alexander Moring & The De La More Press.
The De La More Booklets are first advertised in 1902. By 1907 there are 24 titles in the series. All are brief, small, but nicely produced books marketed, as in the advertisement below (The Publishers’ Circular and Booksellers’ Record, Volume 87, 1907) as a substitute “for the useless and ephemeral Christmas and Birthday card.”
The De La More Booklets are available in heavy paper “art wrappers” (with flaps) for 6d, three in a box for 1s./6d., or six in a box for 3s. Hardbound titles are also available: cloth for 1s., “moreen” for 1s./6d., or lambskin for 2s./6d.
An example of the box of three De La More Booklets in “art wrappers” is shown below and is dated 1903. The titles consist of Wordsworth’s Ode on Immorality, Hebrew Melodies by Byron, and Lycidas by Milton.
A grey cardboard box with a red cloth tab to aid in opening includes labels with the series name on the spine and the titles on the front (top) of the box.
The tree titles in the box, in different color card covers. The series name is at the top of each cover.
Each Booklet has a half-title page:
The title page, in two colors, includes the date of publication, in this case, 1903.
