Category Archives: 1930s or earlier

332K: New System – Girl Comes of Age Prior to World War II

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The book I am trying to find is called: “NEW SYSTEM”.  The main character’s name is PAGE (not sure of spelling)

It was published in the 1930’s or early 40’s – it’s WWII, or before America enters the war- but nothing is mentioned of the war at all so it might be before it starts in Europe. 

It’s a girl’s coming of age story, pre-WWII. She gets a newfangled “perm”.  She is an artist. Her brother gets engaged, and she helps her family put on a bridal shower. 

She has a sharkskin bathing suit. She just graduated from high school and is deciding on college. She is trying to get organized and has a journal, and is writing about her “New System” of organizing her life. 

No idea who the author is. Picture on the book jacket is a girl’s face with 1930’s -40’s hair style. 

I had this book when I was about 12- loved it. 

331P: The Book Of Secrets

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There are many, many books out there with this particular title but the I’m looking for is very hard to find. It was written by a collection of authors such as; princes, sheikhs, masons, rulers, kings etc. between 1820 and 1920.

The subject of the book is governments; Advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses of different forms of government. Example: Democracies, communism, monarchy, democratic parliaments. It talks about different rituals, different orders like Roscicrucians, Knight Templars, etc.
Around 1500 pages
Leather bound

331E: Red Wagon, Romani Adventure Novel

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When I was a young girl in the 70s, there was a chapter book that my mother used to read to me. This book stayed at my great grandmothers home, and we would read it when we visited. It was probably written for young adults. I think it was written before the 30’s or 40’s. All I can remember is the story was about this gypsy girl’s adventures. I remember a picture of a Romani style wagon, and the color red. I loved it, but can’t recall the title or the plot. Please help. I would love to revisit this book.

330S: Boy Bitten By Burro, Burro Arrested

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My grandmother used to read to me an illustrated children's book - hardback- small book - (about the size of Peter Rabbit). The plot was about a little boy who tried to give a cute burro a carrot but he got bitten by accident. The police came and arrested the burro. She read it to me in the early 1960’s but the book seemed pretty old. It may have been from the 1930-1940 time period. I want to read it to my grandsons! Thank you!

328J: Topsy Turvy (Solved!)

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This was a book passed to me by my mother in the early 1950s. I think it might have been published in the early 20’s-40s maybe? It was a small book in size, grayish cover, with real photos. As I remember it, there was a young girl (maybe blond with curls) in a hospital. She got her name Topsy Turvy because she had to be hung in some manner that put her upside down, maybe? I believe she was an orphan and was eventually adopted – similar to “Daddy Long Legs”. The only reason I think this is a different book from that is I clearly remember a lot of hospital pictures in it.

My mother was a nursing student in Boston in the early 40s so it maybe it was something they produced?

326R: Photos of a Girl Named Nancy

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I’m looking for a book that was given to my mother and that I also loved as a child. Mom was born in 1928, so I think the book was from the early 30’s. I think the title was just Nancy. It may have had a subtitle–I can’t remember. It was hard-covered with blue patterned paper; I remember it as being square, or nearly so, roughly 10 x 10. Each page had a black and white photo of a girl of about five engaging in various everyday activities. The one I remember best showed her with a sudsy rag washing the big glass window in the front door of her house. I have fuzzier memories of photos showing her riding a trike and eating from a dish. She reminded me of Shirley Temple–similar clothes and hairstyle. There was a small amount of text with each photo. My sister and I would love to have this book again!

326L: Beautiful Dresses From Night Sky

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I live in the UK and I am looking for a Children’s anthology of stories (I think), which I had as a child in the 1950s (it may have been older).   It included a story about three poor princesses called Cordelia, Sylvia and Arabella who were invited to a ball but had to make their dresses from old curtains.  The animals and birds helped to make them beautiful dresses from the night sky, sashes of rainbows, ice crowns and stars for their hair and fluffy cloud cloaks.  It was a lovely story, illustrated with black and white drawings.  I have been searching for it for years with no luck.  Maybe someone might recognize it and be able to tell me more.

325L: Ringmaster is a balloon who inflates himself! (Solved!)

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This children’s picture book was always hanging around our vacation home, and in the mid-fifties it looked old, so I guess it was from the late thirties or forties. Definitely not after mid-fifties.  It was a book about a balloon ringmaster who blew on his toe and inflated himself and then I believe he inflated the rest of the circus.  It had some color in the pictures, I think, not many pages, hardbound.  The ringmaster was round body, round head as you can imagine.  Any ideas?