Funk & Wagnalls

They were found at any given supermarket. The ubiquitous Funk & Wagnalls encyclopedia store displays.

In the pre-internet age, the Funk & Wagnalls encyclopedia sets were fun to collect. And they lured you in with the first book, which sold for a penny or some ridiculously low price. But each week, you had to buy more volumes at the not-so-cheap regular prices to complete your set.

Once you completed the collection and you just had to pick up the Y-Z book, you were often rewarded with a matching dictionary set or even a small veneer bookcase for your encyclopedia. 

Funk & Wagnalls also got into the record business in the '70s, offering a collection of light classical and opera music called The Joy Of Great Music, using the same scheme as their encyclopedias...