Ameliaranne Goes Digging by Lorna Wood, pictured by Susan B. Pearse.

Ameliaranne Goes Digging by Lorna Wood, pictured by Susan B. Pearse. Hardcover book with pictorial boards (no dust jacket) published by George G. Harrap & Company 1948, unpaginated with colour and black and white illustrations.

“Susan Beatrice Pearse (1878 – 1980) was a British illustrator of children's books best known for the Ameliaranne series of books.”

I found this book in not the best of conditions. Besides the cover having some wear around the edges, there is very noticeable creasing in the book. It looks like the book has been jammed on a shelf with something behind it and something had to give, which in this case was the crispness of the pages. I'm a bit fussy about this sort of damage in the books I sell and generally upon realising what is going on, I put these books back on the shelf, declining the purchase thereof. 

Nasty creasing

Ameliaranne was different. Firstly it's not a title that I have not previously come across in my searches (even though the book is not that rare), which is something that always sparks my interest. And then I saw the illustrations and was immediately sucked into the charming pastelly softness of Susan B. Pearse's illustrations. This woman knew how to do a nice picture and even after 68 years since it's publication, a bookseller like me can be impressed.