The
Illustrated Children’s Literature Collection at Adelphi includes almost two
dozen Volland books. While some are a century old, they have a contemporary
look that remains enticing to young readers.
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| Buddy Jim by Elizabeth Gordon;
illustrated by John Rae (1922) |
In
1908, Paul Frederick Volland (1874-1919) founded the Volland Publishing Company
in Chicago, Illinois. The company began by
producing greeting cards and calendars but eventually became widely known as a
book publisher of high quality, modern children’s books. Titles were often produced
in series, with such delightful names as Sunny Book, Happy Children Book, Fairy
Children Book and Nature Children Book.
 |
| Bib Ballads by Ring Lardner; illustrated by Fontaine Fox (1915) |
An
early example, published in 1915, was a collection of poems by the well-known
sports journalist Ring Lardner (1885-1933). His Bib Ballads was illustrated by Fontaine Fox (1884-1964), creator of
the popular Toonerville Folks comic
strip.
Johnny
Gruelle (1880-1938) was the most famous of Volland’s authors/illustrators and
his Raggedy Ann Stories and sequels brought success to Volland until the company’s
demise during the Great Depression. Originally handmade, Raggedy Ann dolls were
manufactured by Volland to coordinate with the stories.
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| The Gigglequicks by Miram Clark Potter; illustrated by Tony Sarg (1918) |
Tony
Sarg (1880-1942), illustrator of The
Gigglequicks, was also a master puppeteer and creator of the first hot air
parade balloons for Macy’s. Katharine Sturges Dodge (1890-1979) illustrated Tales of Little Dogs and was the mother
of Hilary Knight, the illustrator of the Eloise books. M. T. “Penny” Ross
(1881-1937) created adorable Flower Children pictures and was also a cartoonist who worked with Walt Disney.
John Rae (1882-1963), who studied with the artist Howard Pyle (1853-1911),
produced soft, impressionist illustrations for Elizabeth Gordon’s Buddy Jim. Janet Laura Scott (1888-1968)
created pictures for Gordon’s Wild Flower Children and was also known as an illustrator of the popular Bobbsey Twins
book series.
Originally,
many Volland books were sold in illustrated cardboard gift boxes. A wonderful
variety of stories and pictures awaited each child as the lid was opened.
--By Elayne Gardstein
