Faber & Faber, Ltd. (London, UK)
Series dates: 1934-1936
Size: 5.75″ x 8.25″
Faber & Faber’s Rose & Crown Library consisted of 8 literary titles all of which were reprints published in 1934 and 1935 (and sold for a few years afterward). The Rose & Crown library seems to be an instance of a publisher creating an outlet for some of their back catalog titles, but at a lower cost than the original editions. The titles seem to use the original printing plates and are printed at the same size as the originals, thus minimizing costs.
The series was announced in the Times Literary Supplement, April 26, 1934. The advertisement (below) suggests the Rose & Crown Library is being issued due to the popularity of the Faber Library series of reprints. The first two volumes are a two-volume set of Sir William Rothenstein’s Men and Memories.
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Jackets for the series are printed on a pale rose paper and are common to the series. The series name is included on the top of the jacket spine, along with the title, author, and publisher. The front of the jacket includes a series colophon with two roses and a crown. The front jacket flap blurbs the title and includes the price (5s, net).
Edith Sitwell’s Alexander Pope was first issued in 1930 (in a trade and limited edition) by Faber & Faber. This copy, although the copyright page indicates a “Second Impression” dated 1930, is actually a 1935 edition bound for the Rose & Crown Library. The binding of this reprint is different in color (the original printings are bound in yellow) and includes the rose and crown colophon on the book spine and half-title page.
The rear of the jacket includes all 8 titles in the series including the Sitwell title, the last in the series. Each title is numbered and includes a brief quote from reviews of each title. The rear jacket flap includes a note that a catalog of Faber & Faber titles will be sent upon request.
The titles in the series, with their dates of publication in the series:
#1. Men and Memories, vol. 1: 1872-1900, by Sir William Rothenstein (1934)
#2. Men and Memories, vol. 2: 1900-1922, by Sir William Rothenstein (1934)
#3. Under the Fifth Rib, by C.E.M. Joad (1934)
#4. James II, by Hilaire Belloc (1934)
#5. Chaucer, by G.K. Chesterton (1934)
#6. A Superficial Journey through Tokyo and Peking, by Peter Quennell (1934)
#7. Desert Islands and Robinson Crusoe, by Walter de la Mare (1934)
#8. Alexander Pope, by Edith Sitwell (1935)
The bindings are blue cloth with gold typography and series colophon.
The half-title page is the only place in or on the book that includes the series name (and serial number of this particular title).
A portrait of Pope faces the title page.
The copyright page seems to retain information included in the second regular impression of the book, with the 1930 year of publication.
Printer information is included on the last page in the book: “London: Charles Whittingham & Griggs (Printers) Ltd. Chiswick Press, Tooks Court, Chancery Lane.”
