Christmas Bookshop - Rare Books
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Featured Collectable Book of the Week - Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. & Ernestine Carey Gilbreth
Long before there were "octomoms" and television series documenting parents climbing towards 20 children, there were the Gilbreths.
Published in 1948, Cheaper by the Dozen tells the story of time and motion study and efficiency experts Frank Gilbreth and Lillian Gilbreth, and their 12 children. The book, written by Frank and Lillian's children, Frank Jr. and Ernestine, was adapted to film first in 1950 and then again in 2003.
Inspiration for the memoirs title came from Frank Sr.'s jokey reply to the frequent questions about why he had so many children. "Well, they come cheaper by the dozen, you know," he'd say.
The family's adventures after Frank Sr.'s 1924 death were recorded in the sequel Belles on Their Toes which was published in 1950.
