Remember Big Little Books?

The Whitman Publishing Company stated publishing Big LittleBooks in 1932. The books look much like a four-inch block sawed off the end of a two-by-four. The outstanding feature of the books was the captioned picture opposite each page of text. The books originally sold for 10 cents. Readers had the pleasure of a big story in a little compact book.  The first Big little book, the adventures of Dick Tracy, came off the presses just before Christmas in 1932. Big Little Books have enjoyed three major periods of publication.

The Golden Age 1932-mid 1938. The books published during this time frame were the most interesting, influential and memborable books produced.

The Silver age mid 1938-1949 less innovative sets of books were produced during the Silver age.  Their production was influenced by the growing comic book market and paper shortage during WWII.

The Modern Age 1950 to the present is characterized by more than 40 years of sporadic and short-lived attempts to revive the books in different forms and with different content.

We have a number of Big Little Books for sale at the BrickHouse Antique Center. You can stop by the store at 247 East Main St. in Palmyra, NY,  or shop on line at www.brickhouseantiques.com.