Western Publishing Company of Racine, Wisconsin came into existence when two brothers, Edward and Albert Wadewitz, bought a small print shop in that city in 1907 and in 1910 named it Western Publishing Co. They later added Whitman Publishing as a subsidiary through acquisition and they continued to grow. Famous for their Golden Books, they produced a wide variety of children’s books, comics, activity books, and games. Through an assortment of associations with companies like Walt Disney Productions, Warner Bros. MGM, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Walter Lantz Studio they had access to some of the best story line material and graphic artists working at the time.
Western printed comics under the Dell banner and later under its own Gold Key Comics name. Very popular were the Big Little Books first published by Whitman in 1932. Other titles came out in Golden Books, and Little Golden Books, with books for older juveniles under the Whitman banner including adventure stories with series of Trixi Belden, Ginney Gordon, Donna Parker and Trudy Phillips plus The Walton Boys, Power Boys and 
Troy Nesbit for boys. Later books were published as tie-ins to popular TV shows and movies. They included Disney shows, Spin and Marty, and Annette (Funicello) plus Lassie and Rin Tin Tin.
The association with major studios and animators helped produce some of the best graphics in all of the children’s book world. The period from 1932 to 1938 is considered the golden age of graphic presentation and story content in children’s books. The Big 
Little Books are especially collectible and still fun to read. Also popular with collectors and plentiful in the market place, are the Golden Books with stories that have become classics. This series has tons of titles giving the collector lots of choices in finding copies that were kept in excellent condition. And who can forget the Whitman Big Tell-a-Tale Books like Winnie The Pooh, by A. A. Milne.
In my younger days, I had the opportunity to sell some equipment to Western Publishing Co. of Racine. Because of the nature of my products I am often consulted by groups of interested parties including engineers, shop supervisors and the people that would use the equipment. The job has taken me into many interesting work places.
At Western Publishing I expected to see piles of little children’s books and I wasn’t disappointed, with pallets full waiting to be shipped. But to my surprise, I also saw pallets of sports cards in full sheets, not yet cut into individual cards.
When searching for these collectible books look first at cover and spine wear, check inside for crayon or pen marks and leaf through for torn pages. Often mishandled and easily damaged, the copy in excellent condition may be elusive but worth the search. Just don’t pass on a good copy while waiting for a great one.
Check the year of printing not just the copyright date as reprints are common. Even if you’re not intending to buy, enjoy a few minutes with the artistry of the illustrations and enjoy the simple messages the story line brought to children in the not too distant past. And if you’re my age, the Golden Books still make for a good out loud read to your grand kids.
