Endpapers and title page for 1920 primer: "The Winston Readers"

Here is a look at the dandy illustrated endpapers for The Winston Readers: Primer, which was published in 1920 by The John C. Winston Company, based in Philadelphia. The book was illustrated by Frederick Richardson (1862-1937), who also, more famously, did illustrations for the books of L. Frank Baum, Hans Christian Andersen and Andrew Lang.

If you're interested in checking out more illustrated endpapers, this post from July is a good jumping-off point.

Long ago this textbook was the property of the Mohnton School Board in Mohnton, Pennsylvania (just southwest of Reading). A history of Mohnton public schools can be found here. The book is still in very nice, filled with stories that are accompanied by full-color illustrations. Some of those stories include The Gingerbread Boy, The Little Red Hen, There Was a Crooked Man, Lambikin, The Three Bears and The Wee Wee Woman.

Not much history is available on this series, which is a bit of a bummer. The books were also known as "The Winston Companion Readers," and they focused on silent reading.

Here's a look at the title page. You can never go wrong with a chicken, of course.