'Round the World We Sail

(American Children's Literature) Scott, Janet Laura. 'Round the World We Sail. Minneapolis: A Gordon Volland Publication / The Buzza Company, circa 1930. Oblong 8vo - 7-3/16" x 9-1/2" (183 x 241 mm). [12] pp. Bound in original blue cloth-backed color pictorial paper-covered boards with all edges tinted blue, printed entirely on thick, heavy board pages and featuring vibrant color illustrations throughout. Housed in the original publisher's matching two-part paper-covered cardboard box with the book's front cover design replicated on the box lid. The physical condition of the item is graded FINE (utilizing the standard antiquarian book grading scale for works on paper). The exterior paper boards are exceptionally bright, crisp, and clean, showing only the slightest, trivial hints of rubbing at the extreme corners. Internally, the heavy board pages are graded VERY FINE, remaining remarkably fresh, clean, and free from the fingerprint smudges, edge chipping, or corner bumping typical of well-loved children's books of this era. The original publisher's box is graded VERY GOOD -, exhibiting one broken corner to the lid, expected shelf wear along the edges and corners, and minor scattered abrasions with small, localized paper losses to the cover illustration on top, but remaining entirely complete and structurally sound. This striking, beautifully preserved work stands as a premier example of the boutique production values that defined the Volland publishing legacy. Written and illustrated by Janet Laura Scott, a celebrated American commercial artist, this book reflects her signature whimsical aesthetic, seamlessly blending bold Art Deco motifs with vibrant, full-page compositions that fill each sheet to the margins. Scott was extensively employed by P. F. Volland for his eponymous Chicago firm, and her work here for his son Gordon’s boutique imprint captures the transition of high-art illustration into early 20th-century juvenile media. The narrative charts the global voyage of the twins, Jib and Jigger, as they sail from America to visit young friends in Norway, Holland, Southern France, China, and Hawaii before returning home. Each destination is depicted with rich, high-saturation color lithography that demonstrates the superior graphic arts standards maintained by the Volland-Buzza partnership in Minneapolis. The commercial union between the Gordon Volland imprint and The Buzza Company created a highly distinct yet bibliographically complex series of releases. Operating under boutique principles, the Buzza Company frequently omitted traditional edition statements and reissued successful titles without altering title pages or copyright dates, masking subsequent printing runs under a uniform exterior. Consequently, surviving examples are evaluated primarily on their physical state and the presence of contemporary publisher accessories rather than printing states. Because children's heavy board books were designed for tactile utility and subjected to rigorous domestic handling, their survival rate is inherently low. To encounter a clean specimen complete with its original, highly fragile two-part publisher's box is an extraordinary scarcity, as these ephemeral cardboard containers were almost universally discarded upon receipt. AN EXCEPTIONAL, CRISP EXAMPLE OF AMERICAN ART DECO ILLUSTRATIVE DESIGN CELEBRATING THE DISTINCTIVE ARTISTRY OF JANET LAURA SCOTT AND THE BOUTIQUE PRODUCTION STANDARDS OF THE GORDON VOLLAND IMPRINT, SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCED BY THE PRESENCE OF THE UNCOMMONLY SCARCE PICTORIAL PUBLISHER'S BOX, REPRESENTING A CRITICAL ACQUISITION FOR INSTITUTIONAL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS OR EXTRAORDINARY PRIVATE COLLECTIONS DEVOTED TO THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, MIDWESTERN PUBLISHING HOUSES, OR TWENTIETH-CENTURY JUVENILE ILLUSTRATION.