Golden Book Encyclopedia

The Golden Book Encyclopedia is a set of children's encyclopedias published by Western Printing and Lithographing Company under the name Golden Press. [ [http://www.answers.com/topic/western-publishing Western Publishing: Information and Much More from Answers.com ] ] Advertised as circulars in newspapers, the encyclopedias were sent out in weekly or bi-weekly installments. Supermarket chains, such as Acme Markets, used these encyclopedias as a promotional hook to lure shoppers.

The front page of every volume describes the books as, "Fact-filled Volumes Dramatically Illustrated with More Than 6,000 Pictures. The Only Encyclopedia for Young Grade-school children. Accurate and Authoritative. Entertainingly written and illustrated to make learning an adventure." [Parker, Bertha M. "The Golden Book Encyclopedia." 1st ed. 16 vols. New York: Western, 1959.] Subjects included in the Golden Book Encyclopedia series were related to nature and science, history, geography, literature, and the arts.

Editions

The first edition of the encyclopedia was published in a joint venture between Simon and Schuster and Western Printing and Lithographing Company in 1946. The author of the edition was Dorothy A. Bennett and the illustrator was Cornelius De Witt. A 16-volume hardcover encyclopedia set was published in 1959 and in 1969, and was written by Bertha Morris Parker, formerly of the Laboratory Schools at the University of Chicago and research associate at the Chicago Natural History Museum. The 1988 edition lists the author as "Golden Press," and contains 4 extra volumes, making it a 20-volume set.

Volumes

1959 Edition
Volume 1 - Aardvark to Army
Volume 2 - Arthur to Blood
Volume 3 - Boats to Cereal
Volume 4 - Chair to Czechoslovakia
Volume 5 - Daguerreotype to Epiphyte
Volume 6 - Erosions to Geysers
Volume 7 - Ghosts to Houseplants
Volume 8 - Hudson to Korea
Volume 9 - Labor Day to Matches
Volume 10 - Mathematics to Natural Gas
Volume 11 - Navy to Parasites
Volume 12 - Paricutin to Quicksand
Volume 13 - Rabbits to Signaling
Volume 14 - Silk to Textiles
Volume 15 - Thailand to Volcanoes
Volume 16 - Wales to Zoos

Other versions

Besides publishing just an encyclopedia for children, Golden Press has also published similar reference material, which includes The Golden Book Encyclopedia of Natural Science and The Golden Home and High School Encyclopedia.

References