Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House By Eric Hodgins - Illustrated by William Steig circa 1946 edition
There was nothing so, well, so aphrodisiac, as a set of building plans. Mr. Blandings
{HISTORY}
One of the most beloved books and movies of the 20th century, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House is the classic story of an everyday man determined to carve out his own little slice of domestic bliss. Based on a true story written by Eric Hodgins, it was published in 1946 and instantly skyrocketed to the bestseller list in an instant. As it turned out, readers everywhere could relate to the follies, predicaments and expenses that befall the good-intentioned and dreamily determined Mr. Blandings. Hollywood fell in love too. In 1948, the film version premiered starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy, making movie lovers as smitten with the Blandings on the big screen just as much as they were with the book.
In the first few years of publication this book sold hundreds of thousands of copies, which yielded a number of different styles of printed versions, including book of the month club editions and paperback formats. With minor changes in cover board colors on the hardbacks and different cover art imagery on the paperbacks, this story is a fun collectors item or the small differences each one holds. This edition printed here is one of the early editions, not first edition but possibly second printing. It contains green cover boards with a red spine and purple titles. The dust jacket imagery for hardcover versions remained the same for many editions, but this one particular dust jacket may have come from an entirely different edition of the book altogether, as it does not contain any pricing info or date references. That being said, original dust jackets like this for Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House are harder to find, so it's wonderful that an unmarked book edition found an original dust jacket even though they may not have started out together. A lovely mismatch!
{SPECIAL FEATURES}
- 1946 copyright date
- 237 pages + additional author's bio page
- Illustrated throughout by William Steig
- The dust jacket is bound a removable Mylar cover to protect its fragile nature
{CONDITION}
Although somewhat chippy around the top and bottom edges, thanks to the mylar cover, the dust jacket is intact and in relatively good shape considering its almost 75 years old. The interior of the book has weathered just as well. The spine is tight, pages are bright and clean and all intact. There is slight foxing on the front and back endpapers and a slight tanning in color. There is also a slight musty odor - one of a book stored in a cool environment in an old library, for example - which isn't bothersome to anyone in the kitchen, but if you have sensitivities we just wanted to pint that out.
{SIZE}
Measures 5.5"inches (width) x 8.25" inches (length) x 1" inch (thickness)
{GIFT IDEA}
If you love stories like The Money Pit or Funny Farm, then you'll be equally smitten with this charmer of a book. Mr. Blandings makes a lovely housewarming gift for anyone who has embarked on or is getting ready to build their own dream house or for anyone in the real estate, architecture or home construction fields.