Group 1-322
DUST JACKET: Light wear & chipping to edges & corners, with light scratches, indentations, rub-wear & soiling -- corners show only very light wear -- both top & lower spine edges show only minor bumping, although top spine edge shows a 1/8" tear -- 1-1/8" crease at rear left lower edge, as well as horizontal creasing along both top & lower edges of both front & rear -- both flyleaves are unclipped -- dust jacket interior shows browning -- moderate sun-fade on spine edge. -- BOOK: Very light wear & chipping to edges & corners, with light scratches, indentations, rub-wear & soiling -- top page edges show soiling & dust -- corners are very sharp, with only very slight wear & NO bumping -- lower spine edge shows only very slight bumping, while top spine edge shows NO bumping -- both covers & spine are quite bright & sharp -- penciled price/code at front right endpaper -- pages are only lightly tanned -- this book may possibly have never been read! -- OVERALL CONDITION = Very Good Plus or better
PLEASE NOTE!!! This listing is for the Reader's Digest Condensed Books version of SPENCER'S MOUNTAIN by Earl Hamner, Jr -- and NOT for any other edition of that book!!!
My father began acquiring READER'S DIGEST CONDENSED BOOKS by about 1954, and kept purchasing them regularly very likely until he passed away in 1988. He regularly threw away the dust jackets which came with each book, for some reason; and the upper half of our short living room bookcase proudly showcased the spines of his collection, which arrived every three months. Sometimes, after paying the quarterly bill for each volume, he would leave the box in which the book had arrived unopened for months at a time, until he had decided that he finally had caught up with his other readings (his regular monthly issues of READER'S DIGEST, plus POPULAR MECHANICS, MECHANICS ILLUSTRATED, ARGOSY, and so on), which I (as a young boy) found maddening, since I enjoyed looking at the colorful illustrations in each of the volumes.
Admittedly, when the Winter 1962 volume of READER'S DIGEST CONDENSED BOOKS had arrived, I was more interested in the selection by WALTER LORD, entitled A TIME TO STAND, since it involved the siege of the Alamo in 1836; and I paid only brief attention to the other selections inside: A PROLOGUE TO LOVE, by TAYLOR CALDWELL ; KIRKLAND REVELS, by VIRGINIA HOLT; GIVE IT BACK TO THE LEMONGROWERS!, by WILLARD TEMPLE; and the opening novel in the volume, entitled SPENCER'S MOUNTAIN, by a fellow named EARL HAMNER; Jr.
Jump ahead 10 years, and one of the most popular television shows of the 1970s was THE WALTONS, based upon EARL HAMNER's original book, SPENCER'S MOUNTAIN (which had also been made into the 1963 movie of the same name, featuring HENRY FONDA and JAMES MacARTHUR and MAUREEN O'HARA & VERONICA CARTWRIGHT & others).
The READER'S DIGEST CONDENSED BOOKS version, from Winter 1962, is, first of all, CONDENSED -- it is NOT the complete text of the original novel. However -- it DOES include 8 full color illustrations by NOEL SICKLES (who was one of the artists who inspired MILTON CANIFF, who created the newspaper comic strips TERRY & THE PIRATES and STEVE CANYON), plus a b&w photo of EARL HAMNER Jr, with a brief biography.
As for the other books in this volume, I'll be brief:
A TIME TO STAND -- by WALTER LORD -- full color illustrations by JAMES ALEXANDER & BEN STAHL
A PROLOGUE TO LOVE -- by TAYLOR CALDWELL -- full color illustrations by WILLIAM A. SMITH
KIRKLAND REVELS -- by VICTORIA HOLT -- full color illustrations by BEN STAHL
GIVE IT BACK TO THE LEMONGROWERS! -- by WILLARD TEMPLE -- full color illustrations by THORNTON UTZ
Shipping charges include postage (including USPS Tracking on domestic shipments), packaging materials, labor and fuel (the nearest post office is 14 MILES away!); but I do combine shipping charges on multiple items -- so fill up that cart NOW an' save some $$$!