St. Paul’s Library

Longmans, Green & Co. (London, UK; New York, US, Toronto, CA)
Series dates: 1927-1928
Size: 7.5″ x 5.25″

aka / St. Paul’s Library of Fact and Fiction

Revised 5/29/2023

A rather obscure series of eight titles and four authors. The titles are a grab bag – essays, fiction, a scholarly tome, abridged, on the afterlife.

Advertisements are relatively numerous and appear in the Spectator (July 16, 1927, p. 119, above left), New Statesman (July 23, 1927, above right), The Publisher’s Circular and Booksellers’ Record (August 8, 1927, p. 194, below left), and Outlook (December 3, 1927, p. 739, below right).

The series consists of eight titles by four authors:

She, by Sir Rider Haggard. With 16 Full-Page Illustrations (1927)
Cleopatra, by Sir Rider Haggard. With 16 Full-Page Illustrations (1927)
People Of The Mist, by Sir Rider Haggard. With 16 Full-Page Illustrations (1927)
Outspoken Essays First Series, by The Very Rev. W.R. Inge, C.V.O., D.D., F.B.A., Dean of St. Paul’s (1927)
Outspoken Essays Second Series, by The Very Rev. W.R. Inge (1927)
Human Personality And Its Survival Of Bodily Death, by Frederic W.H. Myers, Abridged By S.B. & L.H.M. (1927)
A Gentleman Of France, by Stanley Weyman (1927)
The House Of The Wolf, by Stanley Weyman (1928)

Stanley Weyman’s The House of the Wolf seems to be the final title in the series, and the only one printed in 1928.

Jackets are common to the series, an abstract pattern in two tones of green on pale green paper. One source indicates that the jacket designer is Kenneth Romney Towndrow. The book title and author, and publisher are on the jacket spine. The title and author, and series name are on the jacket front. The price, 3/6 net. is on the front jacket flap.

The rear of the jacket and back flap are blank, except for the pattern.

The books are bound in a stoic grey with gold typography. A review of the series (The London Mercury vol. 17, 1927) takes offense at the book color:

Blank endpapers with a gift inscription:

The half-title page includes the full series name:

The reverse of the half-title page includes a full list of the eight titles in the series:

An illustration faces the title page, which is separated from the title page by a sheet of tissue.

The title page with the date (1928) of publication:

“Made in Great Britain”

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