Below a tongue in cheek article by Simon Procter.
The Lost William Book
A lost, or ghost, book is any author’s work for which no copy is known to exist. Many books have been published on this subject matter, and for those with an interest in what they may be missing out on I can recommend highly Stuart Kelly’s The Book of Lost Books and Rick Gekoski’s Lost, Stolen or Shredded: Stories of Missing Works of Art and Literature.
Books may be lost for many reasons: famous library fires, accidentally misplaced manuscripts, or an author’s last wishes that their unpublished juvenalia or salacious papers are disposed of by family or executors.
Keen William collectors will already know that there were 38 William titles published between 1922 and 1970, with Just William – The Book of the Film considered an appendix to the main series.
However, there is a substantial hint of a lost 39th title from no less a source than the great Just William illustrator himself, Thomas Henry.
In the Newnes’ Holiday Annual 1926 a Thomas Henry cartoon shows an advertisement for William the Immortal available at 2/6; which would have been the standard price for William hardback books at that time.
So far I have been unable to locate a copy of this book but the hunt continues. As the annual was published in the summer of 1926 it would be conjecture where the missing title would fall in sequence among Still William [1925], William – The Conqueror [1926] and William – The Outlaw [1927]. As all short stories from the Happy Mag are accounted for it is again hypothesis as to where more short stories would have been originally published. As Newnes had a fondness for cheery synonyms for their monthly humour magazines (Happy Mag, Sunny Mag, Jolly Mag) I am searching the British Library for similarly named series. If anyone has come across anything along the lines of Gleeful Mag or Slightly Bemused Weekly I would be delighted to hear….add Delightedly Mag to that list.
I can confirm that this title has been subsequently used, at much later date, by another party known to members of our society. However, should any member be aware of or locate a copy of the original lost William book I would be cheered to be contacted.
Response by David Schutte.
Dear all,
The elderly gentleman in the picture looks suspiciously like my great grandfather. He was known for seeing into the future, and I wonder if he was complaining about the use of a title that he had foreseen his great grandson using in 1990, to be published on his 140th birthday… And in the picture he is exactly the same age as I am now…
David