The Vanguard Library was published by Trapps Holmes and ran from May 1907 until April 1910, a total of 152 issues. Issue 137 carried an announcement that the following week the paper would become the Vanguard Library of Football, Sport and Adventure. Issue 138 remains untraced and may not have been published. Issue 139-153 were published in tabloid format. You would have to assume that the new format was not a success as 153 was the final issue.
Steve Holland has researched this rather intriguing publication in some depth and you can find the results of that research here. http://www.philsp.com/homeville/BJSP/t482.htm#A16962
The short lived Old Boys Book Collector carried a couple of interesting articles on the Vanguard Library. In Issue 1 the publication's creator Tom Hopperton wrote an article on the Vanguard Library which managed to annoy Hamilton - Issue 2 contained Hamilton's response! One interesting fact emerged in Hamilton's reply - it was previously thought that only a dozen or so Hamilton stories had appeared in Trapps Holmes publications but in his reply he states that the number was at least a thousand. Allan S and John L have been researching the Trapps Holmes publications and their findings are recorded in the Hamilton Bibliography.
Copies of this paper (in fact all Trapps Holmes publications) are very difficult to obtain. The paper doesn't age well and is very brittle so perhaps that is why we don't see many issues coming on to the market today. If anyone can provide more information on this publication (or indeed in any Trapps Holmes publication) please contact me.
A few issues of the Vanguard Library are available for download. If you have any issues you would like to share then please contact me.
A number of Hamilton stories were reprinted in the Picture Fun
The following list was kindly supplied by Dr Nandu Thalange.
