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The Herbs and The Adventures of Parsley
" Parsley's Tail " and " Parsley's Good Deed "
2 hardbacks,published by the BBC in 1969.
Illustrated by someone simply called "Esor".
Who also worked on the annuals as well.
Both books are about 9" x 7".
Approximately 26 pages each.
And both have artwork only - no photos
They are both very similar in format & style. So I've randomly chosen one double page interior spread to represent them both.
Below .... " Parsley's Last Stand " and " Parsley's Problem Present "
Again a set of just 2 hardback books and once again published by the BBC,only this time in 1970.
Still written by Michael Bond ( which was not the case with all the written merchandise.)
But,unlike the 2 examples above,there are colour photos from the series footage,rather than just illustrations.
Each one re-tells an episode from The Adventures of Parsley - "Cowboys and Indians" and "Sage's Birthday"
The latter being the one where Parsley & Dill decide Sage's present should be a knitted balaclava.
( As you would of course ! )
And both books are about 7.5" x 8" and 16 pages long. continued below ....
Only 3 of the books and annuals featured still photos using the original models and sets.
These 2,plus the board book (below)
So that does tend to make them more desirable ..... at least from an adult nostalgia perspective I think.
And as they are both so similar in format & style I've randomly chosen one double page interior spread to illustrate what to expect in both. Photo
And a quick flavour of the writing .... Parsley's Last Stand
" Indians ! he howled. I think I'd better bury my bones while the going's good !
And he disappeared behind his kennel so fast he almost left his tail behind "
Parsley's Problem Present
" Isn't it amazing, he exclaimed, turning to Dill in disgust. That's the trouble with owls ....
they're either awake and grumbling all the time,or they don't give a hoot because they're asleep "
Left .... The Herbs board book
This old ebay photo gives a clue that it's quite elusive.
And I've no interior pics as yet.
Published by World Distributors (Manchester) Ltd. 1968
It's a simple story book. About 7.5" x 7".
But it's elevated above the norm for 2 reasons :-
1. Because it not only has colour photos.
But ones that were specially staged and shot using the original models and sets - rather than lifted from the actual series footage.
and
2. All of its pages are made out of really thick,stiff card.
Which is certainly a point of difference.
And,presumably,the only reason they did it. ( ? )
Right .... " The Adventures of Parsley "
7 short stories in this 1972 Dean and Son hardback.
Unusually,the stories don't seem to mirror any from the tv series.
And neither the writing nor the illustrations are credited.
But Dean often used freelance as well as in-house artists and writers.
Which is presumably what happened with this one.
Despite the lack of stills the artwork is nice and colourful.
It measures about 8.5" x 9.5" and runs to approximately 20 pages.
And a representative double page interior shot is here
