Other editions
There have been several more editions of the book, although none of them were ever the same printing that included the real rabbit fur binding. Since the 1946 edition was expensive to produce and libraries were reluctant to purchase it because of it's unusual fur covering, the book was "reissued in 1951 in a standard format, then in 1968 in a new, fur-jacketed mini-edition, and finally in 1985 in a small format bound in fake fur" (Nordstrom, 33). As editor Nordstrom explains in her letter to Garth Williams, the 1951 reissue would have a standard cloth binding and "a new edition in a larger size and without any wormy or moth-eaten fur will sell very well" (Nordstrom, 33). The book has been consistently available in different formats, the most recent printing was 2005.
Above is the cover for the a 1991 reissue, it was published as a regular hardcover, not a board book (like many of the other editions).
This was one of the hardcover board books published in 1992 by HarperCollins. It was also the cover for a regular hardcover edition in 1985 by HarperCollins (the new name of the original publisher Harper & Row).
This is the most recent edition of the book, printed in 2005 as a board book for preschoolers. The same cover was used for a hardcover edition printed in 2003. Both editions were published by HarperFestival (the new name of the original publisher of Harper & Row).
The paperback version was printed in 1970 by another company, Scholastic Book Services, with permission from Harper & Row. (This is the version my mother had as a child, which I then read as a kid, too). Scholastic was the only other publisher, beside Harper & Row (and the different names it would take over the years).
List of Editions
New York, Harper & Row, 1946, first edition, hardcover (real fur binding).
New York, Harper & Row, 1951, hardcover (no fur binding).
New York, Scholastic Book Services, 1972, paperback
New York, HarperCollins, 1984 board book (fur on tummy)
New York, HarperCollins, 1991, hardcover
New York, HarperCollins, 1992, board book (fur on tummy)
New York, HarperFestival, (1995 & 1997), board book (fur on tummy)
New York, HarperFestival, 2003, board book, deluxe box edition
New York, HarperFestival, 2005, board book (fur on tummy)
New York, Harper & Row, 1951, hardcover (no fur binding).
New York, Scholastic Book Services, 1972, paperback
New York, HarperCollins, 1984 board book (fur on tummy)
New York, HarperCollins, 1991, hardcover
New York, HarperCollins, 1992, board book (fur on tummy)
New York, HarperFestival, (1995 & 1997), board book (fur on tummy)
New York, HarperFestival, 2003, board book, deluxe box edition
New York, HarperFestival, 2005, board book (fur on tummy)
Sales
The first printing in 1946 was 50,000 copies (a huge run for the time, especially for a book with fur binding). Nordstrom wrote Brown that advanced sales were good, "Young Books ordered 1,000 and F.A.O. Schwarz ordered 2,500" (Nordstrom, 13). As of fall 1946, "at least 835,000 copies of her various books had been sold" (Marcus, 201).
Promotion
Brown published three books in October 1946 alone, including Little Fur Family, the book's release was discussed in the December 2, 1946 issue of Life magazine, in a profile piece entitled "Child's Best-Seller." The article featured pictures of the fur-bound book and was great publicity for Brown's already astounding body of work. Illustrations from Little Fur Family were spread throughout the article, bringing lots of attention to one of her latest projects.
An advertisement for Little Fur Family ran in the November 10, 1946 issue of the Chicago Daily Tribune along with several other children's books published by Harper and Row.
Though it isn't an advertisement, there is the one item of licensed merchandising for the book - a plush version of the little fur child!
A very similar advertisement for Harper and Row children's books ran in The New York Times on November 10, 1946 and included a blurb about Little Fur Family.
A month after the release of the book, Macy included the book in the department store's holiday sales circular featured in the December 22, 1946 issue of The New York Times.
Translations
The book has been translated into other languages. It was translated into Japanese in 1994 by Dowakan Ltd. in Nagasaki. In 1968, it was translated into Swedish and Danish by Carlsen in Stockholm.
Sequel
Although Margaret Wise Brown and Garth Williams worked on many books together, they only produced one "sequel" to Little Fur Family, even though it didn't directly follow the creatures of the original book. Three Little Animals was "published posthumously by Harper in a conventional picture-book edition" in 1956 (Nordstrom, 14).
Sources
Marcus, Leonard. Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon. Boston: Beacon. (1992).
Nordstrom, Ursula. Dear Genius: the letters of Ursula Nordstrom. New York, NY: HarperCollins. (1998).
"Display Ad 227 -- No Title. " Chicago Daily Tribune (1923-1963) 10 Nov. 1946, ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849 - 1987), ProQuest. Web. 21 Oct. 2010.
"Display Ad 430 -- No Title. " New York Times (1923-Current file) 10 Nov. 1946,ProQuest Historical Newspapers New York Times (1851-2007) w/ Index (1851-1993), ProQuest. Web. 21 Oct. 2010.
"Display Ad 55 -- No Title. " New York Times (1923-Current file) 22 Dec. 1946,ProQuest Historical Newspapers New York Times (1851-2007) w/ Index (1851-1993), ProQuest. Web. 21 Oct. 2010.
Other editions/covers were provided by Amazon.com and HarperCollins website
Translation and various editions information was provided by OCLC WorldCat at www.worldcat.org
