The Greyfriars Holiday Annual for Boys and Girls, 1923

[1922].  280pp, 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 are worn all over, with some mild scratches, rubbed and chipped at edges, rounded on corners, spine canvas cracked all along rear joint & fraying, crumbled at spine head, clear tape allied to edges in places.  Clear tape repair to front hinge.  Text block edges and page margins tanned with some spotting.  Some strained gutters, leaf 7/8 torn has tape repaired tear, signs of figuring and corner creasing occasionally.  In fair condition only but a harder-to-find Greyfriars volume.

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.