Filled to the brim with images this scrapbook of the 1930s overflows with nostalgia for those who remember that extraordinary era. For those who do not this wealth of imagery provides a vivid insight into a time when sliced bread had just reached the table & Butlins holiday camps had recently opened. Life in the 1930s for many was not easy; for others who had known Victorian times the pace of change was frightening & modern life led to nerve tension. Yet change brought a better standard of living & numerous new products helped the daily routine. Electrical appliances were a boon to housewives without servants affordable motor cars made access to the countryside easier new fun included Dinky Toys Monopoly & a stream of delectable confectionery (Mars bars Kit Kat Black Magic Cadburys Roses). The aluminium milk bottle top made its appearance. Design was memorable for the red telephone kiosk the Anglepoise lamp & the Underground map
- all still in evidence today. The Royal Family went through a turbulent year following the death of George V when Edward VIII decided he had to abdicate. The speeding motorist was hampered by 30 mph restrictions & pedestrian crossings were guarded by Belisha beacons. By the end of the 1930s television held exciting promise for the future but a growing tension focused on impending war. The 1930s Scrapbook has drawn together the best from the Robert Opie Collection. The images are as bright today as when they were purchased in the shops. Coronation souvenirs film & fashion magazines fireworks comics & Christmas crackers
- all survived to tell a remarkable story.

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The early Forties might have been years of make-do-&-mending & fashionable inventiveness but the latter half of the decade saw an explosion of contemporary forward-looking fashions. 1940s Fashion: the Definitive Sourcebook" is an extensive survey that brings together previously unpublished photography & beautifully drawn illustrations to provide a comprehensive overview of the period from the austerity fashion of the war years to the introduction of Dior's revolutionary " New Look" & the rise of Hollywood glamour. From haute couture to ready-to-wear this publication comprehensively documents the season-by-season fashions of the WWII era & the immediate post war period. The images feature prominent stars of the decade such as Joan Bennett Veronica Lake & Barbara Stanwyck & designers including Dior Lucien Lelong Balmain Nina Ricci & Worth. "1940s Fashion: the Definitive Sourcebook" covers every aspect of female fashions from the period from lacy evening gowns tailored skirt-suits & luxurious fur jackets to figure-sculpting undergarments satin negligees & glamorous swimwear. The introduction outlines the different themes of the period & each chapter is given an introduction. Biographies of major designers of the time are included for an in-depth look at who shaped the 1940s fashion world." ...

A brand new Agatha Christie omnibus bringing together all four st&-alone novels she wrote in the 1940s
- N or M? Towards Zero Sparkling
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The 1948 Olympic Games were the first of the postwar era. Britain was still suffering the after effects of the war. Rationing was in operation. Bomb sites remained throughout London & other major cities. Yet London took on the Games & staged them very successfully. There was no election of London as the chosen venue. The idea had first been raised in 1937 by Lord Burghley that London should hold the Games in 1944. The International Olympic Committee decided without any vote that London should have the 1948 Games. ? The Games cost three quarters of a million pounds
- about GBP77 million in todays terms. Compare that to the 2012 budget of GBP3.3 billion! Of course no new facilities were built. This was the make-do-&-mend Olympics. Athletes were housed in barracks & schools & were given tickets for the underground to make their own way to the stadium. Those British athletes who lived in or near London stayed at home. ? The book tells how London came to be awarded the Games how they were managed & their economic political & social significance. Each of the sports are described but this is no endless list of dry statistics.
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Do you remember Pathe News? Taking the train to the seaside? The violet stains of iodine on the knees of boys in short trousers? Knitted bathing costumes? Then the chances are you were born in or around 1950. To the young people of today the 1950s seems like another age. But for those born around then this era of childhood seems like yesterday. From waking up to ice on the inside of the windows washing in a tin bath by the fire & spoonfuls of cod-liver oil home life was very different to today. This delightful compendium of memories will appeal to all who grew up in this post-war decade whether in town or country wealth or poverty. With chapters on games & hobbies holidays music & fashion the wonderful memories & delightful illustrations will bring back this decade of childhood & jog memories about all aspects of life. ...

Whimsical yet reverential captions describe the girls the sets the poses & the props. There are almost 300 photographs. Ammonite Press unveils a series of four picture books compiled from the archives of the classic girlie magazines Fiesta" & " Knave" which celebrates an age when glamour photography strove more for artistic ideals & risque titillation than the sexually explicit top shelf titles of today. Statuesque models of the 1950s adopted the poses of Greek goddesses in elaborately styled sets while their equivalents from the Swinging Sixties displayed a more playful almost naive innocence. A decade later the pin-ups of the 1970s invariably shot in luscious colour & sumptuous sets offered a more seductive appeal while the glamour girls of the 1980s became more sexually suggestive in their poses & attire
- or lack of it. The bevy of beauties that graces the pages of these four books illustrates the changing faces
- & bodies
- of the glamour model over four decades from the demure to the titillating the seductive to the steamy the erotic to the raunchy."


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The 1950s home presented an exciting new way of living for the generation that moved out of the suburbs. Young couples who had previously rented accommodation in urban centres found themselves able to afford new-build homes with hot running water an indoor bathroom & aerials for the wireless already installed. Some four million houses were erected mostly in cosy semi-detached styles that harked back to traditional cottage architecture. The design elite rejected this Stockbroker Tudor look & opted instead for brave flat-roofed modernist villas. This book introduces the homes that people fell in love with in the 1930s & the fixtures & fittings that went in them. Packed with illustrations & informative chapters on architectural styles gardens furnishings & technology in the home this book is an ideal introductory guide to the houses of the period. ...

Being a housewife in the 1950s was quite a different experience to today. After the independence of the wartime years women had to leave their jobs when they married & support their husband by creating a spotless home delicious meals & an inviting bedroom. A 1950s Housewife collects heart-warming personal anecdotes from women who embarked on married life during this fascinating post-war period providing a trip down memory lane for any wife or child of the 1950s. This book will prove an eye-opener for those who now wish they had listened when their mothers attempted to tell them stories of the 'old days' & will provide useful first-hand accounts for those with a love of all things kitsch & vintage. From ingenious cleaning tips ration-book recipes & home decor inspiration the homemaking methods of the fifties give an entertaining & poignant insight into the lives of 1950s women. ...

? After the privations of the Second World War the British embraced modern design like never before. From spindly-legged furniture to fabrics based on atomic design & quirkily patterned pottery to abstract graphics they wanted everything around them to reflect the bright new post-war world. This book traces the development of modern design in the 1950s from its genteel beginnings at the Festival of Britain to the shops brimming with slick products at the end of the decade. Looking at well-known classics popular favourites the work of famous designers & that of anonymous innovators it is a perfect introduction to the flamboyant & sometimes kitsch style of the decade when we learnt to love the modern. ...

Embarking on motherhood was a very different affair in the 1950s to what it is today. From how to dress baby (matinee coats & bonnets) to how to administer feeds (strictly four-hourly if following the Truby King method) the child-rearing methods of the 1950s are a fascinating insight into the lives of women in that decade. In The 1950s Mother author mother & grandmother Sheila Hardy collects heart-warming personal anecdotes from those women many of whom are now in their eighties who became mothers during this fascinating post-war period. From the benefits of 'crying it out' & being put out in the garden to gripe water & Listen with Mother the wisdom of mothers from the 1950s reverberates down the decades to young mothers of any generation & is a hilarious & at times poignant trip down memory lane for any mother or child of the 1950s. ...