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Scribner’s Illustrated Classics Series

Scribner Illustrated Classics.jpg series cover

Beginning with Maxfield Parrish’s illustrated edition of Poems of Childhood by Eugene Field, Charles Scribner’s Sons began to publish a generally uniform edition of illustrated classic books for younger readers. These are characterized by a full-color paste-down on the front board, and contained a number of color plates as well as black and white illustrations. Later printings frequently would drop some of the color plates making the early editions more desirable.


Books in the Scribner’s Illustrated Classics series:

Drums (1928)

This is the story of Johnny Fraser and his part in the Revolutionary War in the South.

Read online at archive.org

Author(s): James Boyd
Illustrator(s): N. C. Wyeth

Smoky the Cow Horse (1929)

The story of a cow horse and his various masters.

Read online at archive.org

Author(s): Will James
Illustrator(s): Will James

Jinglebob (1930)

This is an authentic tale of cattle ranching in the 1880’s.

Author(s): Philip Ashton Rollins
Illustrator(s): N. C. Wyeth

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (1930)

This is the first appearance of Peter from the book The Little White Bird. This is the fourth Rackham illustrated edition.

Author(s): J. M. Barrie
Illustrator(s): Arthur Rackham

The Story of Roland (1930)

James Baldwin retells the story of Roland the great knight of France and his service to Charlemagne. Read online at archive.org. ... View More

Author(s): James Baldwin
Illustrator(s): Peter Hurd

The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1931)

Chadwick Buford is an orphan who finds a home for himself and his dog Jack in the Kentucky settlement of Kingdom Come. He has many adventures during which he discovers his true parentage, fights in the Civil War and returns to Kingdom Come. Read onli... View More

Author(s): John Fox, Jr.
Illustrator(s): N. C. Wyeth

The Story of Siegfried (1931)

A retelling of the Norse and German myths of the hero warrior Siegfried.

Read online at archive.org

Author(s): James Baldwin
Illustrator(s): Peter Hurd

Lone Cowboy (1932)

This is a fictionalized autobiography by Joseph Ernest Nephtali Dufault, born in Saint-Nazaire-d’Acton, Quebec, who moved to the United States and changed his name to William Roderick James. He is best know as the author of Smoky the Cow Horse.... View More

Author(s): Will James
Illustrator(s): Will James

The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (1933)

This is the first of Howard Pyle’s four books that encompass the Matter of Britain - that is the story of King Arthur. It tells of how Arthur became king and some of his adventures. Read online at archive.org. ... View More

Author(s): Howard Pyle
Illustrator(s): William James Aylward
Howard Pyle

The Story of Sir Launcelot and His Companions (1933)

This is the third of four volumes by Howard Pyle regarding the Matter of Britain - that is King Arthur and his knights. In this volume he tells of the adventures of Sir Launcelot du Lac and the birth of his son who was to become Sir Galahad - sans pe... View More

Author(s): Howard Pyle
Illustrator(s): Harvey Thomas Dunn
Howard Pyle

The Story of the Champions of the Round Table (1933)

This is the Brandywine edition. It includes the stories of Lancelot, Sir Tristram and Sir Percival. There is also a library edition in blue cloth, without the paste on label.

Author(s): Howard Pyle
Illustrator(s): Howard Pyle
Frank Schoonover

The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur (1933)

In this, the fourth and final volume of his history of the Matter of Britain - that is King Arthur and his knights, Howard Pyle tells of the adventures of Sir Galahad and the death of King Arthur.

People from Dickens (1935)

Extracts from Dickens that illuminate his characters.

Author(s): Charles Dickens
Illustrator(s): Thomas J. Fogarty

Louisa Alcott’s People (1936)

Selections from the works of Louisa May Alcott, including Little Women, Little Men, Jo’s Boys, An Old-Fashioned Girl, Eight Cousins and Jack and Jill.

Author(s): Louisa May Alcott
Illustrator(s): Thomas J. Fogarty

The Boy Emigrants (1939)

Two young men head west by Conestoga to find a better life. This edition bound in black cloth with a paste on cover is more typical of the Scribner’s Illustrated Classics.

Author(s): Noah Brooks
Illustrator(s): Harvey Thomas Dunn

The Yearling (1940)

The story of Jody and his love for a fawn.

Read online at archive.org.

Author(s): Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Illustrator(s): N. C. Wyeth

The Enchanted Book Stories From Many Lands (1947)

This is a fairy tale anthology.

Author(s): Alice Dalgliesh
Illustrator(s): Concetta Cacciola

Robin Hood (1957)

The legends of Robin Hood are recounted by Paul Creswick.

Author(s): Paul Creswick
Illustrator(s): N. C. Wyeth

Robinson Crusoe (1957)

First published in 1719, this account of ‘eight and twenty years, all alone on an uninhabited island on the coast of America’ was based on the experiences of Alexander Selkirk, who was marooned on an island in the Pacific Ocean. Most rece... View More

Author(s): Daniel Defoe
Illustrator(s): N. C. Wyeth

Heidi (1958)

This is the well loved story of a little Swiss orphan who goes to live in the mountains with her grandfather, her exile in the big city and her return home. Originally published by David McKay it was added to the Scribner’s Illustrated Classics... View More

Author(s): Johanna Spyri
Illustrator(s): Jessie Willcox Smith

Peter Pan (1980)

This is J. M. Barrie’s most famous work. It tells the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous little boy who can fly, and his adventures on the island of Neverland with Wendy Darling and her brothers, the fairy Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, the Indian ... View More

Author(s): J. M. Barrie
Illustrator(s): Trina Schart Hyman

The Call of the Wild (1999)

Stolen from his home, Buck is shanghaied to the Klondike gold fields. There he bonds with John Thornton. When Thornton is killed by robbers, Buck becomes the leader of the wolf pack.

Author(s): Jack London
Illustrator(s): Wendell Minor

White Fang (2000)

A classic story of a half-dog half-wolf who is brutalized by a bad master during the Klondike gold rush, but finally finds a man he can love.

Author(s): Jack London
Illustrator(s): Ed Young

The Red Badge of Courage (2002)

A young soldier in the Civil War must decide what it means to be brave.

Author(s): Stephen Crane
Illustrator(s): Wendell Minor

Watership Down (2012)

The rabbits of Sandleford Warren set out to find a new home on Watership Down.

Author(s): Richard Adams
Illustrator(s): Aldo Galli

Bambi (2014)

Bambi: A Life in the Woods” by Felix Salten was originally published in Austria in 1923. Simon & Schuster’s 1928 edition is based on an English translation by Whittaker Chambers.

Author(s): Felix Salten
Illustrator(s): Lou Fancher
Steve Johnson

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