Ladybird books were published by Wills and Hepworth of Loughborough.
The company started making books during World War I (1914-1918) but launched the standard sized books, beloved of three generations, in 1940. For the next 30 years these little books could be had for the princely sum of 2/6d and most people of a 'certain age' have a favourite.
Despite being essentially British, the books were a world wide sensation, and printed in over 30 languages. Ladybird books are still in production, as part of the Penguin book group, but the printing presses at Loughborough are now still and the books are printed overseas.
'Downy Duckling' is one of the series 401; rhyming stories based on the adventures of little animals. This was the first set of Ladybird books Wills and Hepworth produced. The books set the template for decades of book production with words on one page and a picture on the other. They were illustrated by A. J. Macgregor and the verses were written by W. Perring. This particular copy is a 6th edition from 1951.
