EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 18 © 2017 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

73 In terms of the economics of production, each of the Puffin Picture Books had to be the same height as a Penguin book but twice the width, thereby ensuring packing efficiency but also creating a distinct 'look' for the new line of paperbacks. Each book was created from a single sheet, marked off into 16 pages, with colour on one side and black and white on the other. In order to keep the unit costs down, the print run for each title had to be 20,000. Lane and Carrington’s vision and enterprise paid off handsomely and the books sold well enough for new titles and new initiatives to be added to the series. Early titles in the series were illustrated by the artists working directly onto a zinc plate with a brush or pen—a process known as 'autholithography'.This process helped to keep costs down as well as adding a distinct graphic edge to the titles in the series. The initiatives included a series of cut-out modelling books—one memorable example was a cut-out of one of illustrator Roland Emmet’s distinctive trains, which had been launched at Battersea Fun Fair in 1951. Constructing the model was estimated to require 200 hours input from an experienced model-maker. The launch of the range of Puffin Story Books one year later, in December 1940, was a further consolidation of Carrington and Lane’s brainchild. The publication of stories aimed directly at children enabled the publisher to reissue old classics such as ABOVE AND FACING PAGE: Covers to some of the earliest titles in the Puffin Story Books series. Editor Eleanor Graham was tasked with raising the standard for these attractive little books. Her rejection of Enid Blyton and J. R. R. Tolkien as suitable texts demonstrated her insistance that literary merit should be the arbiter of what appeared under the Puffin banner—impressive sales figures and proven track records notwithstanding.