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thirteen guide books that comprise this series provide both a tangible reminder
of the Festival of Britain and a celebration of its ethos. "The
Festival shows how the British people, with their energy and natural resources,
contribute to civilisation. So the guide books as well celebrate a European country
alert, ready for the future". - Geoffrey Grigson.
Their distinctive format, choice of authors and illustrators, quality of production
and selling price, are all reminiscent of the King Penguin and Britain
in Pictures series. "Not
everyone has ten shillings or fifteen shillings to spend on a fat topographical
volume. Here are 94 pages of lively matter including upwards of 50 illustrations
for a very reasonable price". - Dustwrapper blurb.
The poet Geoffrey Grigson was both general editor and author of two of the titles.
Among the illustrators who provided the colour frontis pieces where Barbara Jones,
Kenneth Rowentree and S.R. Badmin. All
the guides follow the same format; a written portrait by the credited author,
a gazetteer (mostly by H. G. Stokes) and motorist tour maps drawn by K.C. Jordan.
(The maps rather remind one of Ogilby's 1675 road atlas.) Collins
published the series for the Festival of Britain Office, in two separate issues.
Numbers 1-10 in March 1951 and 11-13 in August of the same year. These later volumes
are generally held to be most difficult to find, with 13 being the scarcest. They
are all increasingly difficult to find in clean dustwrappers. The
Series
1 West Country by Geoffrey Grigson.
2 Wessex by Geoffrey Grigson.
3 Home Counties
by R. S. R. Fitter.
4 East Anglia by R. H. Mottram.
5 Chilterns to Black Country by W. G. Hoskins.
6
South Wales and the Marches by W. J. Gruffydd.
7 North
Wales and the Marches by W. J. Gruffydd.
8 East Midlands
and the Peak by W. G. Hoskins.
9 Lancashire and Yorkshire
by Leo Walmsley.
10 The Lakes and Tyneside by Sid Chaplin.
11 The
Lowlands of Scotland by John R Allan.
12 The Highlands and Islands of
Scotland by A. Dunnett.
13 Northern Ireland by E. Estyn Evans. Each
Volume contains 94 pages profusely illustrated in black- and-white and colour.
Published price was three shillings and six pence. Stock
We
always have individual tiles from this series in stock and occasionally, fine
sets. Please email us for details.
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