Photo Book: Andersen's Junior Deluxe

Today's photo book post honors a recent vintage find: a Junior Deluxe Edition Andersen's Fairy Tales from 1956. If you're a vintage book lover, you've probably come across the fabulous Junior Deluxe Editions before - their signature graphic designs and Mid-Century illustrations have made them a highly coveted group!

Published by the Nelson Doubleday house during the mid-1950s, many different illustrators contributed to the series. Leonard Weisgard, a long-time childrens book illustrator, created the simple and stunning images in this book.

There were a number of Junior Deluxe books at the vintage shop where I found this one, but of all the titles I was instantly drawn to Andersen's Fairy Tales. I don't have a copy of these stories, and some of them are among my favorites. (Hello, The Red Shoes anyone?) I am also completely enamored in the color scheme: fuschia pink, jade green, and black. Each Junior Deluxe Edition has its own three-color palette, which is part of their distinctive graphic charm.

Within the front and back covers is a spread of intriguing illustrations derived from the stories. In each Junior Deluxe book, these spreads pick up the bright accent colors of the book's palette. Each book has one full-color illustration next to the title page; after that, each story is illustrated by Weisgard's detailed modern line art.

"Nothing in the world can be compared with red shoes." - H.C. Andersen

Read more about illustrator Leonard Weisgard at this website devoted to his work. Also, for more info on the Junior Deluxe Editions, check out posts on Rad Library. There's also a Flickr group devoted to images of the books.