Series Identification Guide - Little Blue Book Variations

After almost five years spent experimenting with the various pocket series, Emanuel Haldeman-Julius felt he had finally found a winning formula with the Little Blue Books. This did not, however, put an end to his (or his son's) constant tinkering with design and titles. Over five decades of publishing this series would endure many alterations, some of the most notable of which are described below.

For an in-depth exploration of the Little Blue Book series please see Dating Little Blue Books by Jake Gibbs. Also, be sure to check out our Database of Haldeman-Julius Pocket Series and Little Blue Book Titles for even more information on the titles published in the Little Blue Book series.

Please note: This page is still being aggressively researched and numerous updates are certain. Please come back and check on our progress! If you have something to contribute please let us know

The inaugural Little Blue Book series began publication in late 1923. Up until early 1924 these volumes supported the Haldeman-Julius Company publishing stamp on the front of their wrappers in a similar fashion as with the preceding Ten Cent Pocket Series, Five Cent Pocket Series, and Pocket Series.

In late 1924 the Little Blue Book series began to migrate to a new wrapper design. At first these wrappers were very similar to the previous issue, save that they supported a more prominent series number. Soon after this transitional phase, however, such wraps would be also be devoid of the Haldeman-Julius Company publishing stamp. This wrap is generally considered the defacto standard for the Little Book Book, and would continue to enjoy great usage until the late 1930's.¹ All such booklets were issued in the trademark blue wrappers.²

This wrap was not free of variation, however. For example, sometimes author's names would be typeset in uppercase,³ font usage would sway between serif and sans-serif,⁴ and on occasion the backs would carry the phrase "Made in the U.S.A".⁵

Sometime in the early 1930's the Little Blue Books enjoyed a brief flirtation with a new wrapper design.⁶ Quite notable on these issues is the presence of the HJP Monogram and a new publishers stamp: Haldeman-Julius Publications. This new name was adopted in 1927,⁷ but does not seem to have made an appearance on any variant of the the more standard wrappers issued.

The Automatic Libraries Variant of the Little Blue Book series were available between 1939-1940,⁹ and were distributed by public vending machines. Test distribution started with ten machines located in St. Louis, Missouri, and operated by Vend-A-Book Co. These machines are said to have offered a choice of four titles.¹⁰ It is unknown whether these wrappers differed at all from any other Little Blue Book issued at the time.

Apparently the test was a success, and later in 1939 "Little Blue Book Vendor" machines could be found in a variety of locations including "subways, bus stations, drug stores, and so on".¹¹ These machines offered a choice of 18 titles, and were operated by Automatic Libraries, a division of O. D. Jennings & Company of Chicago, Illinois.¹² Whether O. D. Jennings & Company purchased Vend-A-Book Co. is unproven, but is assumed.

The booklets made available by the "Little Blue Book Vendor" machines are the canonical Automatic Libraries Variant, and bear the stamp of Automatic Libraries on the front of their wrappers. All issues sport blue wrappers. ¹³

Check out our Database of Haldeman-Julius Pocket Series and Little Blue Book Titles for more information on the Little Blue Book titles distributed via "Automatic Libraries".

Apologetic Variants of Little Blue Book titles were often produced when demand for a title exceeded the supply of the typical paper stock available. While not an official wrapper type in their own right, these variants are quite interesting for the story they tell regarding the inner workings of the Girard press, and the Haldeman-Julius business in general. These variants always carry a printed message on the back wraps apologizing for the change in wrapper stock, for example: "Sorry, we had to use this cover paper because emergency conditions made it impossible to get standard cover stock. We'll switch back immediately after receiving new supplies."

Books bearing this apology are assumed to have been printed 1943-1945 when production efforts for WWII caused nation-wide shortages of many materials.

Following World War II we see the introduction of the University in Print stamp on Little Blue Books.¹⁴ This stamp would continue to grace wrappers for many years to come, even following the death of Emanuel Haldeman-Julius. As a result, the University in Print stamp provides a general date at best, and always relies on the existence of other identifying marks to facilitate more accurate dating.

Shortly after the introduction of the University in Print stamp we also see the introduction of the portrait of Emanuel Haldeman-Julius stamp.¹⁵ Books which carry this stamp can safely be dated 1946-1951 as the portrait was retired shortly after the death of Emanuel Haldeman-Julius.¹⁶

The Self-Help Library was a subset of Little Blue Books which grouped together a variety of thematically-similar titles, mostly regarding language use. The series began in 1946 (approximately) and early editions of these booklets bear the University and Print stamp and portrait of Emanuel Haldeman-Julius on the back wrapper. The series continued to be published long after the death of Emanuel Haldeman-Julius, as evidenced by booklets which bear mention of the Little-Blue-Books Company. No concrete end date has been identified.

All booklets in this subset sport a "Self-Help Library" banner across the full width of the front wrap, located near the bottom edge. Some booklets also sport three parallel lines running the full height of the book on the front wrap near the spine edge. When this three line motif is absent, the front wrap will often sport a graphical "eternal flame" above the standard banner instead. Unfortunately these visual clues do not offer opportunity to reliably date the booklets in question as they were used somewhat interchangeably.

Check out our Database of Haldeman-Julius Pocket Series and Little Blue Book Titles for more information on the Little Blue Book titles in the Self-Help Library.

Little Blue Books with graphic wrappers (illustrated covers) began to emerge in the late 1940's.¹⁷ While an exact date is uncertain, a New York Times article run on August 1st, 1951 does mention that in 1949 Haldeman-Julius announced that his Little Blue Books "would soon be covered with illustrated jackets in every color except blue."¹⁸

The range and variety of these cheap illustrations is quite staggering, as can be enjoyably explored via the gallery of illustrated covers on little-blue-books.com.

Little Blue Books with photographic wrappers also began to emerge in the late 1940's.¹⁹ It would seem that far fewer of these were issued than those of the graphic wrapper variety.

Following the death of Emanuel Haldeman-Julius on July 31, 1951,²⁰ control of the company was assumed by his son, Henry J. Haldeman. Little Blue Books bearing a tight crosshatch-patterned wrapper began to emerge shortly thereafter.²¹ Such wrappers were usually of a cheaper material than the traditional card stock of previous Little Blue Books.

Precise dating for this wrapper style is not completely clear, but certainly falls after mid-1951, and no later than 1967.²² In cases where the booklet still provides an editor credit for Emanuel Haldeman-Julius, it is safe to assume they were printed circa 1951-1952.²³ Booklets which bear the University in Print stamp on the front or back wrappers can be assumed to have be released earlier in the early 1950's as well.²⁴

In the 1960's Henry J. Haldeman issued Little Blue Books with a "Property of" stamp on the front of their wrappers, intended for use by students. Titles sporting this wrapper are known to include several William Shakespeare plays: #237 Macbeth, #240 The Tempest, #243 Twelfth Night, and #249 Julius Caesar.

These variants come in at least two wrapper styles. The fundamental difference between the two is that one version (pictured here) has two lines under the "Property of" text, while the other has a single line.

For more information on these booklets please see our article A University in Print: The Marketing of Self-Education.

ZIP Code Variants can be identified by the statement "GIRARD, KANSAS 66743" which adorns the bottom left corner of the front wrapper. These booklets are believed to have been issued in 1967 or later,²⁶ following the institutionalization of mandatory Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) codes on all mail sent via the United States Postal Service.

Very few of these variants are believed to exist. The sole copy we have seen was Little Blue Book #1372.

For a more in-depth exploration of the Little Blue Book series please see Dating Little Blue Books by Jake Gibbs. Also be sure to check out our Database of Haldeman-Julius Pocket Series and Little Blue Book Titles for even more information on the titles published in the Little Blue Book series.

Source Citations

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9,13,14,15, 16,17,21,22,23,24,25,26	Jake Gibbs, "Dating Little Blue Books", [http://www.haldeman-julius.org/haldeman-julius-resources/dating-little-blue-books/]
8	Emanuel Haldeman-Julius, My First 25 Years; Instead of a footnote An Autobiography, 1949, Page 14, Haldeman-Julius Company
10	E. Haldeman-Julius, "Automatic Library - Phase I The First Use of Vending Machines for the Sale of Little Blue Books, 1938", Page 26, Big Blue Newsletter, No. 4, 2004 [http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/culture/pubs/hjcc/2004/1100-hjcc-bbn04.pdf]. Originally published in Questions and Answers #15, Haldeman-Julius Publications, 1939.
11,12	Kerry Segrave, Vending Machines: An American Social History, Page 71 (McFarland, 2002)
18, 20	New York Times, "Publisher Drowns in Swimming Pool", August 1, 1951, Pg. 24

Haldeman-Julius : Pocket Series and the Little Blue Books is for collectors of Little Blue Books, by collectors of Little Blue Books