I've had a fair few books come-in over the last 18/24 months, and the folder was getting unmanageable, so I've split it into 3, arbitrarily, as photographed, not as they came in (like you care!), and will chuck them up here, as two posts on collectables books, and one on non-toy stuff! This is the first of those collectable's posts.
Back in the 'day', the Burn's guides were THE guides, rather eclipsed by the
excellent Scalemates website, now. They provided a good guide to what had been around when, and this came in a few months ago, I have also got the Sci-Fi specific volume, which was a little earlier, this is one of the later 'whole' lists I think.
This was recent show plunder, and I only got it because someone else had left it on the guy's table, after being tempted! Anything
New Cavendish is worth a punt, and this is both an authoritative and academic work, and also beautifully illustrated, and has a comprehensive listing of toys made by the iconic tin-plate manufacturer.
One of several general books on games and/or puzzles, but each always has the author's own favourites, or unique finds, so each has something to add, and between them, they have most of the odd lead-flat or microscale wood vehicles and things, I post from time to time, and one day I'll sit down and ID everything, and we'll have some roundups here of ships, cars, horse racers/riders &etc. It may, however, be a duplicate in the library, I'm getting familiarity-vibes, from the cover?
Bought for 'completion', a kids book really, a primer on what to collect, or sugegstions for collecting, but even a basic book will have something to give, especially if it includes fields outside your own interests. Language/jargon, tools, renovation or cleaning hints or techniques, from other hobbies/pastimes.
It's funny, you can be involved in collecting from an early age, and still be totally unaware of a book, which, when you subsequently research it, becomes clear is quite common and well-known - this is that book, for me, recently! I have a couple of the other 'Advertorial' books; '
The Hornby Book of Trains', which ran to several editions, and would, after the amalgamation, include
Tri-Ang, but this had slid totally under the radar.
To be fair, none of them add much, being only 'chatty' illustrated catalogues, but they are nice coffee table eye-candy, and would have been popular dream-time, wish-list reading for kids, at the time.
Becoming slightly comedic now, but also very useful. Originally Chris Smith (who's Mum worked for
Hawkin/Tobar) sent, first images, then a whole copy, to enhance/back-up stuff being blogged here at
Small Scale World, after I'd shown a photo or scan, I couldn't remember where from, then I got confused about what I'd shown, when. Then, earlier last year, sorting the whole library, I found a couple more, one in with the books, one or two in the box-files . . . then these three came in from the Late Micheal Hyde's estate!
So, allowing for a duplicate or two, I should have five or six of these, from the early 1980's through to the 2000's, with the odd page in a couple of the general catalogues, giving a good overview of the 20-odd years the tin-plate ran for.
And it's clear this was a membership thing, a collector's club for a whole sub-branch of the hobby, with regular/annual issues of these catalogues, each of which has a mail-order form, and where all the ZZ/Rogazz, Shilling, Japanese imports and German/Russian reproductions all sit side by side with Chinese retro/fakes! But all accurately described, sometime s with a potted history of the origins of how the tools/stock was found, put into production, or reproduced, etc . . .
Above are from 1983 (October), 1996 (Cristmas) and the Spring 1998 editions.
Mentioned the other day, one of two or three issued in a rather fantastical sting/fraud which seem to have been set up over several years! There's an interesting reference to it here;
and I quote "We even had Jeffrey Levitt (of Mint and Boxed infamy) calling in as he
passed by on his way to Maidstone Prison. He was serving his time on
weekdays but allowed home for the weekends. He did this for about a
year, still trying to deal in toys whilst jailed for masterminding a
massive fraud dealing in toys!"
Another general book, or that's what it looks like, but this is co-authored by the parents of 'our own' James Opie, and they did more for the early research of all aspects of 'modern' Childhood, than anyone else, and - while better known for their work on playground/colloquial rhymes, fairy tales and children's song - they also covered the toys, and this has some very interesting chapters on play.
The social science of play and childhood is a fascinating field, with the well-meaning Jocasta's of Islington trying to raise 'gender-neutral' offspring, only to discover, on a walk in the woods, that the boys will pick up sticks and use them as guns or swords, the girls will pick up fir-cones and treat them as pets or babies!
And as a life-long Radio-4 fan, I've absorbed some of it, indeed, I dare say I've listened to one or other of the Opie parents' discussing it over the years, I've certainly caught James' brother being interviewed on consumer products, more than once!
I think this was an eBay grab, I can't honestly remember, it may have come from John B, and it's the commercial edition, of a book I may also have bought (without the shiny resin badge) as a self-publish/print-on-demand jobbie, from that there Wibbly Wobbly Way, a few years ago? It's a superb, single-subject work, with all the
Reamsa rarities.
I was lucky to get this! It was earmarked for 'The Doctor', but he only wanted to check a couple of images on a specific page, then he left it, and I grabbed it with glee! Slightly deflated by realising there are several more volumes in the series! But it will help me ID stuff I know little about - French lead!
