• Title: The Bobbsey Twins at Lighthouse Point, The Bobbsey Twins at the Ice Carnival
• Author: Laura Lee Hope
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
• Estimated year of printing: 1939, 1941

Notes: 

Inscription (on both): “Margaret Paula Bengert, 25 Dec. 1943, Mommy” 

The Bobbsey Twins was a series of children’s novels running from 1904 through 1979.  It was about the adventures of the children in the Bobbsey family, which included two sets of twins: Nan and Bert, who were twelve years old, and Flossie and Freddie, who were six. 

These particular books were originally published in 1939 and 1941.  The inscription implies this was a Christmas gift in 1943, so the timeframe lines up.  Lighthouse Point includes a listing of other Bobbsey Twins books inside, ending with this Lighthouse Point book, indicating that this was the newest book available at the time it was printed (the next book in the series, The Bobbsey Twins at Indian Hollow, was published in 1940).  It’s quite likely that when these books were first purchased they included a dust jacket, but they seem to have been lost over the years.

The Bobbsey Twins books were written by a variety of authors under the pen name Laura Lee Hope.  The publisher, Grosset & Dunlap, also published many other well-known children’s book series such as The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew (all also published using pen names).   

I love books with inscriptions, and these two with their Christmas gift inscriptions gives them a lot of character and reminds us that these books really belonged to a person at one point in time — lovingly chosen by their mother as a gift, and, hopefully, read and enjoyed.  I was able to find some history on the recipient of this book, Margaret Paula Bengert.  She was born on Dec. 17, 1934, and passed away on Dec. 25, 2008 (exactly 65 years after receiving this book!).  It appears that she grew up in West Virginia before eventually relocating to Newbury, Massachusetts for most of her life.  She doesn’t appear to have married or had any children.

Historical context:

Lighthouse Point was published in 1939, the same year that World War II began when Nazi Germany invaded Poland.   Ice Carnival was published in 1941, the same year that Pearl Harbor was attacked, causing the United States to enter World War II.