The Greyfriars Holiday Annual for Boys and Girls, 1924

[1923].  360pp, with colour cover illustration by E E Briscoe, colour plate frontispiece and further colour plates and numerous line drawings etc etc in text.  Canvas spine under illustrated paper-covered boards.  8vo. Boards worn, rubbed at edges and rounded on corners, some chipping and creasing, crude tape repair at head of spine, canvas rubbed and cracked, significant shelf wear; text block edges tanned.  Internally some page toning in margin, mild mark on front free endpaper, some gutters strained, ‘belongs to’ box on title page completed in pencil. Some occasional spotting and edge damage to pages.

The Amalgated Press published the first Greyfriars Holiday Annual in 1920, with each issue containing numerous illustrated stories (as well as some puzzles, games and other snippets).  Many of the stories were penned by Frank Richards, or written under another of Charles Hamilton’s pen names (of which he had many) although other authors contributed stories too.  The series was hugely successful, despite its relatively high price, and continued for 22 years before ending in the midst of war-time paper shortages.  Many of the stories feature Greyfriars School and Billy Bunter or some of the other school stories created by Charles Hamilton.