Collins White Circle Artists Part II - York Wilson (1)

This is the second in a series about cover artists for Wm. Collins Sons & Co. Canada Ltd.'s White Circle imprint. The first was Margaret Paull.

York Wilson was a Canadian artist who did commercial work until the late 1940s. He illustrated a number of covers for Collins in 1944 and 1945. We know this because, while he never signed his Collins work, his records (York and Lea Wilson Fonds - R4154) held at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa have a file ("Collins White Circle Pocket Novel" - Book Covers Container 10, File 20) on the work. In the file there are seven covers which I present below. In another post I'll speculate on other WC covers that, based on style, I believe he illustrated. The covers have a lightness and humour that I find appealing. The cover for Stuart Cloete's Congo Song has to be the funniest in the series.

White Circle 99 - first printing

White Circle 208

White Circle 210 - same cover used on new edition in 1952 - #532

White Circle 238

White Circle 239

White Circle 240

White Circle 241

Studio Publications Part III

In the first two parts of this series on Studio Publications I looked at numbers 1-4 and 105-108. Now books 109-111.

The three books continue the changes made after book 4 - larger, more expensive, better quality work being reprinted. Books 109 and 110 are 320 pages and 111 is 352. Two of the covers are photographs from films.

Book 109 is The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexander Dumas (1847). No mention of which English translation this is.

Book 110 is The Brick Foxhole by Richard Brooks (New York: Harper & Bros., 1945).

Book 111 is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (London: Victor Gollancz, 1938). Artist unknown.

A One-of-a-kind Harlequin

Dorothy Dumbrille's All This Difference was published by Harlequin in 1963 as number 718. By this time (starting in 1960) all but a handful of Harlequins were romance. This was, in fact, the last non-romance fiction Harlequin published. What makes it unique is the header on the front cover. It is the only time Harlequin marked a book as Canadian in this way. Another Canadian novel, Peace River Country by Ralph Allen, was published at the same time by Harlequin as number 706 without the tag.

Thanks to the artist, Bern[ard] Smith, who was responsible for many of Harlequin's romance covers at the time, the book looks like a classic Mills and Boon Harlequin romance. But the story revolves around French/English, Catholic/Protestant tensions during the second world war in Glengarry County, Ontario. Glengarry County is east of Ottawa on the Ont/Quebec border.

It's interesting to note that the cover image is clearly early 1960s, not early 1940s.

Dumbrille (1897-1981), largely known as a poet, had this novel published in 1945 by Progress Books of Toronto.

Collins White Circle Reprints Part II

In the first White Circle reprint post I reviewed books published through spring 1943 - up to 72. In this post I'll  look at books 74 to 79 - all published in fall 1943. Book 73 does not exist. An ad on page 26 of the May 1943 Quill & Quire has She Faded Into Air by Ethel Lina White as issue 73, one of a list of forthcoming spring titles. For unknown reasons it was published as issue 82.

75 - Barometer Rising by Hugh MacLennan - there are two variants with no priority. The front cover and text block are identical. Both have the 70 Bond Street, Toronto address. The first variant has red edges, ad on page 256 for seven “Mystery and Detective Novels” and black text on white on rear cover. The second has blue-green edges, ad on page 256 for three Canadian novels and black text on yellow on rear cover.

76 - Death and the Dancing Footman by Ngaio Marsh. There are two variants: blue-green edges with a white back cover and red edges with a yellow back cover. Otherwise covers and text block are identical. Quality of printing is better in first variant. Both have the 48 Pall Mall, London address. No priority.

77- Rehearsal for Marriage by Helena Grose - stated 1945 reprint.

78  Wife in Uniform by Carol Gaye - stated 1945 reprint.

79 - The Commandos by Elliott Arnold. - unstated reprint. The reprint is identified by the 70 Bond Street, Toronto address and an ad on page 192 with 1944 books. The cover below is the reprint. I don't have the first printing. There is an on-line listing that states the first printing has red edges and the second has blue. No other differences between the printings are noted. The copy I have has red edges but for the reasons stated above I believe it is the second printing.

Collins White Circle Reprints Part I

Wm Collins Sons & Co. Canada Ltd. published 459 books in its White Circle imprint from 1942 to 1952. Many of the books were reprinted (I don't count the thirty new editions (i.e., new numbers) of earlier books in the series as reprints). Collins was not consistent, particularly in the first years, in indicating a reprint. For some books it isn't possible to choose the first printing from among variants.

In this post I'll list the reprints and/or variants of which I'm aware for 1942 and part of 1943. If the covers are different for the printings both are provided. Books 51 and 52 are the only reprints with different covers. After that, until book 86, Collins used the same illustration but changed the colour scheme. All later reprints, with one exception, used the same cover.

1942 - first fifty books - no known reprints.

1943 - books 51-72 - these are the spring books (from a Quill & Quire May 1943 ad by Collins):

51 - Immortal Sergeant by John Brophy - stated reprint 1944.

52 - Steady as You Go by Bartimeus - reprint not stated. The first printing's yellow cover is shown in the May 1943 ad for Spring books. The second printing's cover is by Margaret Paull who didn't start her work at Collins until the fall books beginning with 74.

60 - Six Feet of Dynamite by Berkeley Gray - stated reprint 1945.

 

 

65 - The Knife by Herbert Adams - reprint not stated. The address on the reprint is 70 Bond St. in Toronto which wasn't used by Collins until late 1944. The first printing has the 48 Pall Mall London address used in 1942 through late 1944.