The Observer's Book Of...

These delightful pocket sized books have become both a collector's delight and a torture for those whose aim it is to collect every variation of every edition. Prices for books in this informative series vary from the hundreds of pounds for a 1st edition of The Observer's Book of Birds, with a wrapper, to a few pence for some titles published in the Observer's heyday of the 1970's.

So where did it all start? Frederick Warne had a history of publishing both children's books and natural history books. Of particular note are the Beatrix Potter tales which blend the two areas together with their charming stories and illustrations. In 1895 Edward Step had Wayside and Woodland Blossoms published which was his first book and the first in the Wayside and Woodland series. These books were designed for the observant wayfarer.

They were the forerunners of the present day field guides with the revolutionary features of being short, concise, well illustrated in colour, accurate and pocket sized, all of which made them ideal for the beginner. Edward Step's books were so successful that some of the text was reused verbatim in some of the early Observer titles. But why were The Observer books so successful, with some titles still being published today under a new publisher of Penguin? The reason is best captured in an extract from the fly leaf of the original Editions: Popular Price - Suitable for carrying in the pocket - Accurate Pictures.

The books were published by Frederick Warne from 1937 (Birds) to 1982 (Opera). Each book in the series was assigned a number which is found on the base of the spine, although some of the early editions were not assigned numbers until their later reprints were published. Also to confuse matters further, number 86 Country Houses, was commissioned but never published. The Observer series covers a large number of diverse subjects, with the first eleven being natural history based, then moving on to subjects such as architecture, cathedrals, vegetables and kitchen antiques.

Nearly all of the early titles have been updated, rearranged or completely rewritten and even the titles have been changed. Some like Aircraft (Airplanes from 1942 to 1949) and Automobiles (later to become Cars) have been updated annually.

For most collectors the period 1937 to 1982 covers the "real" Observer series. After this Warne initially tried relaunching the series as "The New Observers", but being in financial difficulty they sold out to Penguin. Since 1982 there have been two additions to the series - the reference book The Observer's Book of Observer's Books, published in 1999 and The Observer's Book of Wayside and Woodland published in 2003.

What makes collecting Observers so enjoyable is the ready availability of most of the titles, although some of the later titles, from number 79 Caterpillars onwards, are harder to find as they had smaller print runs. If you start by collecting a copy of each title, there is then a natural progression to collecting every edition of a title, especially those such as Aircraft. You could then move on to collecting each different style of dustwrapper as most books in the series were published with different dustwrappers in their lifetime. Sometimes the changes were very small, for example the justification of the authors' names on The Observer's Book Of Architecture.

Then for the really enthusiastic there are the Cyanamid wrappers which are 13 Observers published with special jackets used to advertise brands of agricultural chemicals and given away to customers in the 1980's. Not forgetting the short lived Australian series numbered A1 Snakes and Lizards of Australia to A8 Wildflowers of Australia.

There is so much to learn and so many different variations in what appears to be a simple series of just 100 books that once you have started collecting it can become very addictive indeed!

Text by Adam Parker.

Further information here, here and here.

Richard Box - Field

‘Field’ 2004 Richard Box. from EcoArt Project on Vimeo.

‘Field’, was inspired by childhood stories from a friend who played underneath overhead power-lines, in his back garden. These stories came to mind as I was reading research into human radiation effects by Bristol University physics department, where I was Artist in Residence for 2003, funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

The installation ‘Field’ was created by planting 1,301, reclaimed, 58-watt fluorescent light tubes, 100mm into the earth, equidistant from their neighbours, covering an area of 3,600 m2 underneath a 440KV overhead power-line, at Tormarton, South Gloucestershire, UK. Becoming visible at dusk the electromagnetic field emanating from the power-lines above, on its way to earth, lit the tubes.

‘Field’ used an everyday glass object to create a highly interactive artwork that was successful on many different levels. The piece drew attention to the presence of the electromagnetic field in a dramatic way, making the invisible, visible.

The grid layout of the tubes plotted the electromagnetic pollution emanating from the overhead power cables. Being placed at the same height and equidistant from their neighbours meant they all had an equal chance of lighting. People’s proximity to the tubes affected the way that they lit. By standing next to and taller than a planted tube your head effectively stole its electromagnetic energy, putting the light out. The different experiments that visitors devised and reported back to me are too numerous to list here. Over 4000 people visited the three week installation, all left with a heightened awareness of the electromagnetic pollution present in our environment.

More information here, here and here.

The Museum of British Folklore

"In Britain in the 21st century, there exists a rich, living of annual folk festivals and traditional rituals, many of which have existed for hundreds of years while others are relatively new. It is therefore a surprising fact that there exists no properly funded centre in Britain to research and celebrate our native traditions and vernacular arts. It is my aim, that over the next few years, such an institution will exist, which will address this situation"

As a child, I devoured the information in my parents copy of 'Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain', published by the Readers Digest in the mid-sixties.

Inside its black, embossed covers, was a rich and magical world of Green Men, Stone Circles, Witches, Giants, Haunted Houses and Seasonal Customs. Single-handedly, it engendered my life-long interest in the folklore traditions of these Islands.

Many of our family holidays were spent in the British Isles, and particularly in Devon, where my mother was evacuated during the war. When I was seven, we visited St. Ives in Cornwall, and I wandered around a tiny museum filled with Victorian toys and penny slot machines. Dotted among the exhibits were fine examples of the British Vernacular arts: Corn Dollies, Staffordshire figurines, Nailsea glass canes and horse-brasses.

Sadly, the museum no longer exists. However, the memory of my visit to it has remained. I have only to smell Patchouli oil to conjure the memory of the museum’s owner; her mane of black hair, and her dark, smoky eye make-up. She was a veritable siren from a silent movie as she showed me, wide-eyed, around her magic kingdom, painstakingly explaining the exhibits to a child filled with wonder at the sight of them.

Over the past fifteen years, I have been involved in researching the many folk traditions of the United Kingdom, as well as actively participating in a great number of the events including 15 years at the Jack in the Green festival at Hastings, which has expanded every year with 23,000 attendees in 2008.

In recent years, there has been a great deal of ongoing debate in both the media and in the public arena as to the changing perception of an indigenous British Folk Culture. What is perceived as contemporary 'popular' culture has been examined so that answers may be sought to the ongoing place of ancient customs in our so-called modern society.

Often, our perceived notion is little more than an understanding of how we as an island nation have, over the last half century in particular, embraced-and actively imported- popular cultures from other places-particularly the United States. Our own Folkloric traditions are often overlooked, despite their being a vital means of preserving and perpetuating our homegrown myths, rituals, community and countrywide histories. Thus, the 21st century study of Folklore, far from being merely historical, also provides a crucial means of understanding and interpreting a culture from the inside out.

It is with this aim in mind, that I intend to establish a permanent collection and national exhibition centre that celebrates and promotes the Folk Culture of the British Isles. In 2008, I actively met curators, small museum directors and archivists responsible for existing folk collections throughout the country. My research also bought me into contact with the Charity Commission, several fundraising consultants and individual practitioners, writers and musicians, so as to gain a fuller understanding of what might be involved in the programming and day-to-day operation of a small museum. I have drawn up a number of diverse policies and agendas, which would affect the operation of such an institution, ranging from Health and Safety issues to Child Protection, Equal Opportunities to Financial Management Control in addition to the crucial Mission Statement for the museum.

In 2009 the museum undertook a UK wide tour. A 1976 Castleton Caravan was bought and over 15 different folk festivals were visited. Members of the public got the chance to learn more about the museum project and could also make donations and meet the museum director. The tour was a valuable source of evaluation into discovering whether or not there was a need and an interest in a new national venue of this kind.

The response was overwhelming and the museum has now moved onto a two year exhibition programme, starting with an exhibition hosted by Compton Verney in Warwickshire, which looks at the history of fireworks in Britain.

For more information about the project, visit The Museum of British Folklore and join the mailing list for monthly updates about this exciting new venture.

Simon Costin..

Sir Benjamin Stone

'Benjamin Stone is a national institution. Photography has been with him, as has been well said, not a hobby but a passion...' The Strand Magazine, 1910.

In 1897, Queen Victoria's Jubilee year, Sir Benjamin Stone (1838–1914) announced the formation of the National Photographic Record Association (NPRA). Its aim was to record the ancient buildings, folk customs and other 'survivals' of historical interest for the future. The result would be a national memory bank that would foster 'a national pride in the historical associations of the country, or neighbourhood, [or] in family traditions'.

Stone was a Birmingham industrialist, a Member of Parliament, an amateur photographer and a passionate collector of photographs. With his belief in 'straight' record photography, he set the agenda for the NPRA not only administratively but also intellectually and aesthetically.

Of the 5883 photographs that the NPRA deposited at the British Museum between 1897 and 1910, 1532 were by Stone. Six years ago all these were transferred to the V&A, and a small selection could be seen in this display.

The NPRA was part of a much wider photographic survey movement at the end of the 19th century, covering British archaeology, geology and ethnography.

The idea of photographic surveys survives to this day, operating at many levels, from local camera clubs and community projects to the National Monuments Record.

While there are strong elements of nostalgia in the NPRA, it was also dynamic as our Victorian ancestors, like us, used photography to project what they valued about their past into the future.

More information here, here and here.

The British Film Institute

"Great civilisations are not remembered for their spending cuts, but for the cultural legacies they leave behind. In terms of overall government spending, the arts are cheap to fund, yet they punch well above their weight. The effect socially and culturally to the nation's collective wellbeing is enormous" - Amanda Nevill.

The British Film Institute (BFI) is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to: encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, to promote their use as a record of contemporary life and manners, to promote education about film, television and the moving image generally, and their impact on society, to promote access to and appreciation of the widest possible range of British and world cinema and to establish, care for and develop collections reflecting the moving image history and heritage of the United Kingdom.

The institute was founded in 1933. Despite its foundation resulting from a recommendation in a report on Film and National Life, at that time the institute was a private company, though it has received public money throughout its history - from the Privy Council and Treasury until 1965 and the various culture departments since then.



The institute was restructured following the Radcliffe Report of 1948 which recommended that it should concentrate on developing the appreciation of filmic art, rather than creating film itself. Thus control of educational film production passed to the National Committee for Visual Aids in Education and the British Film Academy assumed control for promoting production.

The institute received a Royal Charter in 1983. This was updated in 2000, and in the same year the newly-established UK Film Council took responsibility for providing the BFI's annual grant-in-aid (government subsidy). As an independent registered charity, the BFI is regulated by the Charity Commission and the Privy Council.



The BFI maintains the world's largest film archive, the BFI National Archive, previously called National Film Library (1935-1955), National Film Archive (1955-1992) and National Film and Television Archive (1993-2006). The archive contains more than 50,000 fiction films, over 100,000 non-fiction titles and around 625,000 television programmes. The majority of the collection is British material but it also features internationally significant holdings from around the world. The Archive also collects films which feature key British actors and the work of British directors.

From Wikipedia.



Further information here, here & here.

Sight & Sound is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI).

Sight & Sound was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent BFI, which still publishes the magazine today. Sight & Sound was published quarterly for most of its history until the early 1990s, apart from a brief run as a monthly publication in the early 1950s, but in 1991 it merged with another BFI publication, the Monthly Film Bulletin, and started to appear monthly. The journal was edited by Gavin Lambert from 1949 to 1955. From 1956 to 1990 it was edited by Penelope Houston, and then in its relaunched form by Philip Dodd. It is currently edited by Nick James.

From Wikipedia.