D is for Discovering Shire Albums in the Shire Library

Continuing with the meander through my collecting library, both for the general interest and/or hell of it, and as an illustrated bibliography which may or may not be of interest to readers, new or loyal, as to suggesting titles they might want to track down.

 

Shire Publications began with UK-specific travel and local geographic guides, known as the Discovering series, which I don't think ever got a full numbering system, even as they expanded into wider hobby interests, beginning with cultural/rural/folk stuff. That led to the larger format Shire Albums, which were renamed Shire Library when Osprey bought the intellectual property a couple of decades ago, now Osprey itself has been bought by Bloomsbury, and the future is unknown. Shire Albums were numbered more formally, and there are a couple of useful lists of early volumes, here;

Discovering series -  https://www.publishinghistory.com/discovering-series-shire.html 

Shire Albums -  https://www.publishinghistory.com/shire-albums.html

The main storage collection, as it stood about five years ago, these are the smaller Discovering series, with a few similarly formatted softback/pamphlet type publications. I don't know the full argot or jargon of book sizes, and as anyone who has a library will know, they creep in either height or depth by increments of millimetres, with hardbacks complicating things by having internal pages smaller than the dimensions of the whole 'box'. But both formats from Shire Publications were 'standard' sizes used by many other publishers/printers.

 

Here we see a MAP (Model [and] Allied Publications) guide to early plastic kits, which I mentioned while looking at the Burns guides in previous posts on the far right, and on the left a Hamlyn 'All Colour' guide to war-gaming on the left.

 

The Discovering's cover war-gaming and modelling, uniforms and militaria, artillery, horse-drawn transport and horse furniture, and while they are all small, are still very useful for research, especially when you are looking for something specific, or on the tip of an increasingly forgetful tongue (old age bites!), each is like a better illustrated Wikipedia page, you only need to reach for, no Googling lots of useless crap!

 

The larger format Shire Albums include an early tome by James Opie, and are in an even commoner format (A5), so we see an Argus Publishing plans book, and several self-published efforts, including the late John Clarke's diorama's, Britains [horse-]racing colours, and both the Spot On guide and overview of a private collection of cartoon die-casts are self-published, I think.

 

The Airfix history was one of the last new titles added to the Shire stable, numbered at 598, while the W&H list should be with the catalogues, where I have several more, it was a yearly thing for some years, I believe.

 

Added the next day - I thought there were a bunch missing! The core of the toy-related volumes are in the larger format Shire Album size, and here's their shot! 

 

Cropped out of a larger image we'll see in a future post, I grabbed this in the last few years, firstly because 'once you're collecting these things . . . ', and secondly I thought it might help ID some farm/Santon type stuff, and lastly, there is a bit of a costume sub-library in any case!

 

These were all issued as 'free gifts' in Military Modelling magazine, and used to be stapled into the centre-fold, but (with the exception of the one on top, which was a different size for some reason), they were all A5.

 

Private publications, there is very little in these which is still relevant or useful now, but they remain in the library, as all books should, in part as part of the history of the library, and against the concept of 'you never know'; always worth a flick if you're looking for something specific, like a code-number. I have no idea how many titles were issued in this private, or club (?) series?

 

Covers are different, contents are the same, -Album versus -Library.

 

Another MAP, they tended to be compendiums of material previously published in their stable of hobby magazines, and interesting to see an early publication from Pat Hammond, who would go on to become better known for his work on Hornby, Tri-Ang and Binns Road.

 

The MAP is an ex-library copy, both a useful source of old titles, and a guarantee of cheap-price, as true 'collectors' (Bibliophiles) don't rate them, so neither do the second-hand book trade!

 

 Four more minor publisher/self-published types, including more trams (all useful for manufacturers data), and three peripheral tomes, but it all builds the whole, and appendices often have useful stuff in them, lists of manufactures, or after-market (now 'garage') producers.

 

 More of the same.

 

One of the first of the new Library titles, and a useful little overview. Really belongs with the Atlantic Wall/Channel Island subsection of the military library, but should be with its brother volumes, a perennial problem when a figure or book sits firmly in two camps. Does it belong in Cake Decorations, or Ceremonials? Is it Fantasy or Medieval? Bought new, a few years ago, from Waterstones in Basingrad.

 

A visit to the secondhand bookshop in Alton, 2021.

 

Three titles I inherited, as I was sorting my late Mother's estate out, over the last few years, I have a subsection, or subsections on tiles and mosaic, so a useful work, while Shire Archaeology is a third series, running - to date - to 91 titles, listed here;

 

Shire Archaeology - https://www.librarything.com/nseries/15546/Shire-Archaeology

 

Three more interesting tomes, particularly the schools one, not something I have much on, in the library as a whole, an old ex-Public Library book on school architecture in the arts section, maybe? But an interesting read.

 

I don't know if anyone caught the history of Boarding Schools by Nicky Campbell, the Radio1 DJ, on Radio4 recently, but as someone shoved through that flawed and damaging system, I found it both poignant and nostalgic in equal measure.

 

Also inherited, these share one code in the partial numbering of Discovering's

Mum's own fields included furniture, silverware, and latterly oriental art and ceramics.

 

 Another visit to Alton!

 

The most recent but one visit, and seen before, we've also seen Horse Drawn Commercial Vehicles and a second edition of Antique Maps, from a visit this year. While 487, Garden Gnomes, has so far escaped me, but it's only a matter of time! Discovering Book Collecting is a good full stop to this post!

P is for Public Presentation of Pure Nostalgia

I can't remember why I was in the Fleet Library back in April, probably looking for someone, but I happened to see what was in the 'Christmas Toy Display' cabinets, and found this. I also noticed Fleet and Crookham Historical Society, seem to have been renamed Fleet and Croockham Local History Group?

 

 [They've loaded back to front again, and I can't be arsed to switch them all round, it's only NTS imagery, and it leaves the chocolate wrappers down the bottom, near the Internet image of similar stuff, so it's sort of sorted itself out]

 

Definitely remember the Monarch seed packets!

 

It's funny how many of them I recognise, I'm only sixty-one, but a good half my life is 'ancient history' to almost everyone under thirty! Rudolf Hess, I met him twice, in my duties, yet, he's history, proper history to every single person born after about 1985, and many born in the years immediately before.

 

This went through Facebook the other day, it's frightening how many have gone, and how bland the choice actually is these days, I tried to buy a Topic the other day, and couldn't find one, Googled them, and they've gone! Just like that, partly my fault for not buying enough, "Use them or lose them", under Capitalism, the customer's never been right!

C is for Colouring In!

Mentioning - as I did earlier - circa-1975 colouring books, this is dated 2024!

 

Note the rockets! I popped into McDonald's back in the spring, and found a bunch of these left on one of the tables, presumably some kid's party had been and gone, anyway, the girl cleaning the floor said I could have one if I wanted, so I did!

 

In my dotage I may even have a crack at it, but with proper pencils rather than the supplied set of four wax-crayons, (ham-fisted, for the use of), which bear a remarkable resemblance to those seen from Henbrandt in a previous post here at Small Scale World.

T is for Two - Mail, Historic Mail . . .

These may be of casual interest, curiosity-wise, and they certainly deserve to be published for what they represent historically, also they may have some specific philatelic interest to stamp collectors, who may or may not visit here occasionally?

Start with the easy one which happens, also, to be the first, chronologically, I assume it is from my Grandfather or Grandmother on Mum's side, and is only of cursory interest for having the "Past by Naval censor" stamp, bottom left, however, the scribble which seems to accompany it, and which is not recognisable as either of my grandparent's hands, would appear, nevertheless, to be in the same ink, and from the same pen, as wrote the address?

 

The suspicion being that someone in grandad's office, like his own secretary or batman (did they have batmen in the Navy?), had the necessary clearance to sign-off mail, without opening it or checking it properly, or to do so, upon the order from him? . . . The sort of low-level corruption in high places [sorry Grandad!] which leads ultimately to the Sub-Postmaster's scandal, or 'Lord' I-ruined-modern-Britain Cameron, or Rishi's wife having a $multi-million financial interest (through Israeli contracts) in what is, or should actually be, Palestinian oil & gas!

It really is the case that there's one set of rules for the rest of us, and another set for those in power. Although you can slide into or out of the select group who get away with such things, Grandad was cheated of his knighthood, as an embarrassment to two nations, one - Albion - almost as old as Rome, the other - The Republic of India - only months new!

 

And that he (or I) would expect him to have had a knighthood in the normal course of events, only proving also, that the honours' system has always been the meaningless, corrupt, box-ticking exercise it still is - no matter how many minor awards they gave to school dinner-ladies, before they got rid of them all!

This is also of passing interest, for the over-stamps indicating things taking a turn for the worst in another war zone, twenty years later. There's also an apparent conflict between the two types of stamp, one suggesting there's insufficient postage paid to forward the letter, the other claiming a suspension of service?

 

But this, which accompanies the Christmas card (see below), it of far more interest, as A) it reveals a time when we, as a modern, advanced, civilised nation, ran a universal postal service which would fully reimburse you (with a written explanation), if they failed to deliver a letter on the other side of the world - can you imagine anything like that happening today, after 45-years of Thatcherite-Ragnomic ideology having hollowed out all our institutions, and/or reduced them to their lowest, cheapest, common-denominators?

And B) it mentions Laos? The inference being that the Browns', as embassy staff, had been transferred to Laos, for reasons lost in the mists of time, and that for equally unknown reasons, the mail system to Laos, not Vietnam (which while still a hot war, was quieter for Westerners in 1960, only five US servicemen killed, probably all MAAG), had actually heated up, which it had, with both American bombing and a Communist insurgency, edited: I was thinking of 1970, 1960 was the start of the Laotian civil-war!

And, therefore, that while the lack of sufficient postage may have been true, someone nevertheless tried to forward the card 'in theatre' rather than send it back, before giving-up and adding the two 'service suspended' stamps?

I thought the card was worth showing you; beautiful oriental, stylised brushwork of sparrows digging in the snow below highland bamboo, I imagine Mum bought the card somewhere like the British Museum shop, or SOAS . . . somewhere like that, but she may have brought it back from her own diplomatic stint in Singapore?

S is for 'Soldiers'

I wonder how many loyal readers from the UK (or elsewhere if it was syndicated?) will remember, in the autumn schedules for 1985 (or '86/'87, maybe, elsewhere?), a broadcasting-extravaganza of a televisual production, with all the Reithian boxes ticked - Educational, Informative and Entertaining - called Soldiers, and presented by the mighty author of airport-carousel paperbacks, Frederick Forsyth, no less? A strange anti-war, Brwreakshiteer conservative!

Below is the promotional leaflet/marketing press release, which doesn't appear to be copyrighted, so I don't have to worry about the 'fair use' paragraph or anything! It is one of many pieces of crap in the stash which will have to be dealt with over the next few years, and recycled properly or sold to some other mug, but which might jog your memory of the series;

No? Well, it was a long time ago, and I certainly don't remember it being on the telly-box, despite staring in it! But then I had gone off to Austria (pretending NOT to be a British Soldier - they were neutral!) to do my Ski Instructors Course and be lectured into the benefits of regular colonic irrigation by a BASI instructor who had gone beyond Hippy, and was full-on nut-job, but he knew how to ski, and teach skiing!

 

You see, the supposedly 'independent' BBC, are not above getting so close to the Ministry of Defence (MOD), they can save a small fortune in extra's fees, by employing the British Army - for nothing! It's called low-level corruption, and happens in 'so called' democracies (favourite phrase of Trumpies and fuckwits), all the time!

The real reason Napoleon lost the battle of Wahterrr'looo, was not because he had the shits all day, nor was it because he'd spent the previous two decades killing the flower of France or leaving them casually in Egypt, or all over Eastern Europe, it was because the Allies had superior transport - heay; the camera never lies!

 

A-Company, 1 Glosters, being a company of somebody else;

 

"Form squares! And prepare to defend against cavalry!"

 

I'm in there somewhere, but I can only - now - name Benefield, Thomas, Carl Kerry, possibly Freebrey & Cpl Cordingley? Waiting, endlessly waiting for something violent to happen, the lot of the Infantry.

 

And you see, the reason we never got paid, was that the Army are considered to be paid 24-hours a day (which of course means they are well below the minimum hourly wage!), so 'didn't need' paying twice?

 

Prouse and Alan Greathurst? I have a friend who made her living as an extra, Natwest commercials, London's Burning, all sorts, and when she did a non-speaking role as body-double for the remake of Lost in Space, she made enough in eight weeks to allow her to emigrate (Canada), with her family . . . I reckon that the good-old 'Dear Aunty Beeb' owe me about ten-grand, more with interest & inflation, the thieving shitbags!

 

While we were in Kenya, earlier the same year, some elements (Support Company, I think?) were used in anachronistic kit, to do a WWII beach assault from Landing Craft, I don't know if it was the same production, or some B-movie which ended-up straight-to-video, or on the cutting-room floor, but it was another dodgy deal, using British troops for free labour, for profit! But then, so was building Daniel arap Moi's private airstrip . . . another story for another day!