The Whitman 3-Color, Soft Cover BLBs

There were two types of soft cover Whitman BLBs. One type had soft covers with full-color covers identical to the BLB cover versions. The second type had three-color soft covers with different cover illustrations. In both types, the interior of the books were identical to the hard cover versions. At the time of this writing, no one knows for what reason the soft covers were produced or how they were distributed. It is likely that they were used in some promotional way as a giveaway or a premium. The books are among the rarest of BLB items to collect, each commanding over $100.00 in very good condition and considerably more if the condition is better.

All were produced within the first three years of BLB production after 1935. The following is a listing of the 17 known three-color soft cover titles. It is likely that other titles exist and will be discovered.

The 17 three-color soft cover titles are:

Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express		Identical to #713 except for green, orange, and black cover artwork
Buck Rogers on the Moons of Saturn		Identical to #1143 except for red-orange, yellow, and black cover artwork.
Captain Easy Soldier of Fortune		Identical to #1128 except for green, orange, and black cover artwork
Chester Gump in the City of Gold		Identical to #1146 except for pink, blue, and black cover artwork
David Copperfield		Identical to #1148 except for red-orange, beige, and black cover artwork
Dick Tracy Solves the Penfield Mystery		Identical to #1137 except for the red-orange, yellow, and black cover artwork.
Don Winslow, U.S.N.		Identical to #1107 except for pink, blue, and black cover artwork
Erik Noble and the Forty-Niners		Identical to #772 except for green, orange, and black cover artwork
Flash Gordon and the Monsters of Mongo		Identical to #1166 except for pink, blue, and black cover artwork
Little Orphan Annie and the Ghost Gang		There are two versions of this book, each matching the two versions of the standard BLB #1154. Cover artwork is red-orange, yellow, and black
Mickey Mouse and the Bat Bandit		There are two versions of this book, each matching the two versions of the standard BLB #1153. Cover artwork is red-orange, yellow, and black
Moon Mullins and the Plushbottom Twins		Identical to #1153 except for the pink, blue, and black cover artwork
Prairie Bill and the Covered Wagon		Identical to #758 except for the green, orange, and black cover artwork
Tailspin Tommy The Dirigible Flight to the North Pole		Identical to #1124 except for the green, orange, and black cover artwork
The Tarzan Twins		Identical to #770 except for the red-orange, blue, and black cover artwork
Tom Beatty Ace of the Service		Identical to #723 except for the yellow, blue, and black cover artwork
Tom Mix in the Fighting Cowboy		Identical to #1144 except for the red-orange, blue, and black cover artwork

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