Yes, Crash, I'm sure that it was intended for schools, and perhaps public libraries. At that price, for so few pages, individual children or their parents, wouldn't have bought them. Large orders from large city school systems, for all their upper elementary and junior high and high school art and music appreciation classes would ensure lots of sales, and no returns, and thus, make printing them and selling them at that price profitable. But, Baily's gamble didn't pay off, as the series ran only 5 issues before it was shut down.
Link to the book:
Illustrated Stories of the Operas: Faust