SEVEN WHITE GATES

First Newnes wrapper by Bertram Prance

Illustrated by Bertram Prance One of the strongest of the Lone Pine Books. Peter is at the centre of the story, as she is sent to stay with a strange uncle under the haunted mountain crested by The Devil's Chair. She meets a new friend, Jenny who recounts the terrible legends that stalk the hill, and they are joined by David and the twins, with Tom to solve the mystery of her uncle's unhappiness and lay the ghosts of the Stipertones. Serialised by the BBC on their Children's Hour it was an instant hit with listeners and readers alike.

First edition: red boards, black titling including author's name on spine and front board; no tree logo on the front board; larger than reprints at 140x210mm; 200pp; title page vignette and eight b/w full page illustrations; states 'First Published . . . September 1944'.
Dust-wrapper picture full colour showing Tom and Peter with 'bucket' on overhead wire, plain white spine.

Reprints:
Note: Here confusion arises as there were two printings in 1945, but only one was counted in the next two printings, then remembered for the 1949 6th Edition. As a result, there are two 'Third Editions', those of 1945 and 1946, and no 'Fifth Edition'.

2nd imp 1945: labelled 'Second Edition', book size reduced to 'standard' 190x130mm; tan boards with gold blocking; title, author and pine vignette on front board; 248pp. 3rd imp 1945: labelled 'Third Edition'; buff boards. 4th imp 1946: labelled 'Third Edition'; buff boards; d/w white spine; cp 7/6. 5th imp 1948: labelled 'Fourth Edition' in book, no edition given on d/w: buff boards; d/w white spine, blue lettering ; cp 7/6; lists to The Secret of Grey Walls on rear. 6th imp 1949: labelled 'Sixth edition'; buff boards.

Wood's Newnes wrapper

7th imp 1950: labelled 'Seventh Edition'; buff boards with red blocking; by this edn spine of d/w has added picture of Mary being lowered by sling; cp 7/6. 8th imp 1954: labelled 'Eighth Impression' in book and on d/w; orange boards with red blocking, title and pine tree logo on front board; d/w spine illustrated as 7th; cp 7/6; rear lists to The Neglected Mountain. 9th imp 1958: labelled 'Ninth Impression' in book, no impression given on d/w; red boards, black blocking, title, author and tree logo front board; new d/w by Charles Wood introduced, wraps to spine; cp 8/6; rear lists to Lone Pine London. 10th imp 1963: labelled 'Tenth impression'; red boards.

Other Editions:

Advertisement for the serial in issue 28th Nov 1953

in Mickey Mouse Weekly Comic 1953/4: Serialisation; a single page each week, with one or two illustrations by F Stocks May. The serial ran in eighteen episodes from the issue dated 5th December 1953 until that for April 3rd 1954.

Mickey Mouse Weekly comic 6th February 1954 containing the serial.

Collins dustwrapper

Collins 1969: Hardback edition with dustwrapper; revised; red boards; 135x205mm; 191pp; map; no illustrations; dustwrapper picture of Peter and Tom in bucket on wire, spine picture of runaway caravan; cp 12/6.

Armada 1970: Paperback edition; map; no illustrations; cover not credited (as Collins edition); Armada number C352; cp 20p. Reprinted 1974/5: cp 35p.

Armada edition

Collins 'Budget' edition

Collins Budget Edition 1971: Hardback edition; 191pp; map (redrawn) but no illustrations; top page edges green; with pictorial boards as Collins and Armada editions, spine is redone version of rear picture on Armada of runaway caravan; ISBN 0-00-160222-5; no cover price given.

Goodchild 1983: Hardback edition; revised; dark green boards, gold blocking on spine; no illustrations; no map; 190pp; dustwrapper by Gordon King.

Goodchild edition dustwrapper by Gordon King

Girls Gone By edition cover by Bertram Prance

Girls Gone By September 2006: This new paperback edition has the complete, original, text from the first edition with all the beautiful illustrations by Bertram Prance, and the map of the Stiperstones area by David Saville, the author's brother. In addition, the book includes a preface by Jennifer Mettyear, Malcolm's younger daughter; an introduction by Mark O'Hanlon; an appraisal by Mary Cadogan; and an illustrated publishing history by . . er me again, with a section by Laura Hicks analysing the typsetting and text of the first edition, and commenting on its interpretation for this edition.

The cover is reproduced from an original, first edition, dustwrapper, electronically restored to its original glory. The spine and back of the paperback are a colour match for Tom's sweater on the cover, and the rear panel reproduces the white spine of the original and the text from the front dustwrapper flap. (click on image to see).
Size: 130x190mm; 268pp; ISBN 1-904417-96-5.
This is another lovely paperback, beautifully produced. It is available for £10.99, including postage, from the publishers.

Foreign Editions:

Dymocks 1951 Australian hardback edition with illustrations and dustwrapper by Bertram Prance. [For information on this edition, thanks to Mike McGary]

Dymocks 1951 wrapper by Bertram Prance courtesy of Mike McGary

Het Spectrum cover by 'Kelfkens'

Het Spectrum 1962: Paperback edition; Prisma Juniores series, number J197; as Het geheim van de zeven witte hekken; all full page illustrations by Bertram Prance from the Newnes hardback; map redrawn but virtually identical, reduced to fit onto one page, captions in dutch; 215pp; colour cover illustration of Peter and Tom with Mackie in the mineral tub crossing above the farm, signed by 'Kelfkens'(?); Dutch translation by J.P.D. Baas-van Dijk.

Bel Dutch Paperback edition (no date) number J5 in the Bel Junior Pockets series as as Het geheim van de zeven witte hekken; published by Uitgeveramaatschappij De Bron n.v./Amstelveen; not dated; translated by J. Baas-van Dijk; no map but eight new illustrations by R van Looy; 205pp. Rear cover advertises the Bel edition of Raadsels om de Heksenhoek (Mystery at Witchend). [For information on this edition, thanks to Mike McGary]

Bel paperback cover by R van Looy

Molino dustwrapper by Pablo Ramirez

Molino 1961: Spanish edition as SIETE VERJAS BLANCAS. A hardback edition, with dustwrapper, number 28 in the'Aventura' series by this publisher. The translation into Spanish is by Juan J Garcia Guerrero Pictorial endpapers of a design showing children reading; 250 numbered pages, contents and lists of other books following; map, redrawn and translated appears on pages 72-3; illustrated throughout the text by all of the Bertram Prance drawings. Where the Lone Pine symbol has been used in the story, on the back of an envelope or on the HQ2 sign, it is a roughly drawn sketch instead of Newnes' modified Christmas tree symbol. The cover and the dustwrapper have the same artwork by Pablo Ramirez, the back panel illustrates the Lone Pine 'Dokkerment', buried under the tree in the sardine tin above Witchend. The spine panel has the Pine tree and the Molino windmill logo. The front and rear flaps of the wrapper list 58 of the 'Aventura' series and the inside of the wrapper lists books in other series' by the publisher as do the back pages of the book itself. There is no purchase price printed on the book.

Karisto 1990: Finnish translation.