Collector's Notes

All Dean Marshall's books were published by E.P. Dutton & Co. of New York. I believe that the first two, A House for Elizabeth and The Long White Month were only published by E.P. Dutton. The next three, The Silver Robin, The Invisible Island, and Dig for a Treasure were also published in special book club editions bearing the imprint "Published by The Junior Literary Guild and E.P. Dutton & Company." The Junior Literary Guild was a sort of book-of the month club for children. You could subscribe at one of several levels, and receive books appropriate for your reading level. For instance, at Christmas-time, 1948, the offering for 6, 7 & 8 year-olds was Thidwick: The Big-Hearted Moose by Dr. Seuss, and The Invisible Island was the offering for 9, 10 & 11 year-olds. The final book, Wish on the Moon, was also only published by E.P. Dutton, not in a book club edition.

A House for Elizabeth, is the most scarce, with The Long White Month and Wish on the Moon following a close second. A House for Elizabeth was likely not published in great quantities being a first novel. The Long White Month and Wish on the Moon are scarce due to not having been widely distributed in book club editions. By the time of Invisible Island, Dean Marshall's books had become very popular. Both Invisible Island and Dig For a Treasure were purchased in great numbers by libraries, and many remain in library collections. Dig For a Treasure went through at least 3 printings by E.P. Dutton, the latest I have seen from 1956. Most ex libris editions that come up for sale are E.P. Dutton editions. The Junior Literary Guild did not seem to actively market to libraries, although I have seen Guild books that were ex libris. Both The Invisible Island and Dig for a Treasure were also published by yet another publishing company that seemed to market books exclusively for the library market. These editions lack the decorative frontispieces of the Guild and Dutton editions, a real shame in the case of the Christine Price illustrated books. They also have a special library binding -- shiny buckram with no dustcover, although the dustcover design is imprinted on the cover. It is hard to find any of Dean Marshall's books that are not ex libris, and scarcer still are E.P. Dutton editions that are not ex libris.

The genre of the youth novel has always been a neglected category. Newbery Medal books remain in print and the designated "classics" remain in print. Most youth novels, however, are quickly relegated to the back shelves of used book stores, or the library stacks. Most Newbery Medal books of Dean's era were "serious" books, such as Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (1944 winner), a historical work of fiction. Perhaps Dean's books were too much fun to be considered "serious" writing. But youth novels such as Dean's are what instill a love of reading. Perhaps we will some day see Dean Marshall's books back in print.