Category: Books

Categories / Books

Special Edition Miniature Books Tin from Tank Books

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Tankbooks2_1 Cigarette packaging has long been a rich vein of design insipration – notably in the opening credits of indie flick Thank You For Smoking   and now in this Miniature Books Tin from Tank Books.

Six literary classics including Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde come in miniature form (but complete and unabridged), packaged in flip-top cartons complete with clear cellophane wrapping and silver foil. The carton designs use iconic cigarette branding to re-imagine each book's design.

Individual titles are £7.65 each or you can buy the full set, boxed in a  tin, for £42.35.

Find out more at the Tank Books website.

Categories / Books, Design and Interiors

V&A Pattern books: Pop Patterns

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Pop patterns
Inspired by bright, colourful and fun patterns? We advise checking out Pop Patterns, the latest in the V&A Pattern series which we featured on its launch a couple of years ago. 

Like those books, it features 65 different patterns drawn from the archives of the V&A, alongside an introduction from one of the museum's curators. This collection, introduced by Oriole Cullen, pulls together images from the 1960s and early 70s that show the influence of Pop Art on British wallpaper and fabric design. There are patterns by the likes of Mr Freedom, The Fool and Zandra Rhodes and, my personal favourite, a dress fabric called 'Haircut? Yes Please' by Marc Foster and Michael Yates which features illustrations of every kind of men's haircuts, ranging from the classic crewcut to the forward brush and flat top. 

Packed full of unusual imagery, the book is priced £7.99, but is currently available for £6.39 on Amazon. 

Categories / Books, eBay watch

eBay watch: Original Festival of Britain Design in the Festival book

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Festival

Do a search for Festival of Britain on eBay, you'll be amazed at what you find. Everything from stamps and coins through to glasses and teapots, most of it for not a lot of cash. Why an I telling you this? Well, this year is the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain, a celebration of post-war Britain and all it offered. Lots of reproduction material is likely to hit the market, but something like this original Design In The Festival book is far more interesting – and not too expensive.

It's an original publication produced by the Council of Industrial Design and according to the seller, one of the 'scarcer publications' of the event. Certain to appeal to midcentury fans, it is a fully illustrated review of British goods including sections on furniture, textiles, ceramics, electrical appliances, motor cars and cameras. Also numerous pages of contemporary advertisements, many in full colour.

132 pages including covers and in 'generally very good clean condition', the book is up now at £14.95.

Find out more at the eBay website

Categories / Books, Food and Drink

Caravan Cookbook by Monica Rivron

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You can tell that caravans are cool again by the spate of books on the subject, including this Caravan Cookbook by Monica Rivron.

The Rivron family (Monica is wife of comedian Roland Rivron) have been caravanning for over 10 years, which has given them plenty of experience of preparing meals in a limited kitchen space. The book contains recipes for simple, but tasty meals, as well as guidance on what essentials to bring along from home.

The book is available from Amazon, priced £8.46.

Categories / Books

VHS Notebooks

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Vhsnotebook 
There was a time when people disguised their videos in cases that looked like book covers, but now it is nearly obsolete, it seems other products are being made to look like videotapes as with these VHS Notebooks.

There are two options available, either a plain sketchpad or lined notebook. Both measure 19.5cm by 11cmand are supplied in cardboard slip covers, just like the kind that covered blank videotapes.

They cost £12.95 from Pedlars.

Categories / Books

Twenties London: Sex, Shopping and Surburban Dreams by Mike Hutton

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Twenties

If you want to discover the vibrancy of the city between the wars, you might want to get hold of a copy of Twenties London: Sex, Shopping and Surburban Dreams by Mike Hutton.

This 228-age book is described as an 'affectionate recollection of twenties London', examining all facets of metropolitan life from the good time party antics of the Bright Young Things to the seedy underbelly of East End gangland. There's also flapper girls and aesthetes, jazz stars and film legends, but also everyday folk going about their everyday post-war business.

Throwing in some unique photographs and first-hand accounts of life at the time, the book lands on 30th June, but is available to order now – the price is £8.99.

Find out more at the Amazon website