INTRODUCTION:
Let's set the scene ... no television, no internet and not even FM music! It's the 1940's, the 'war' has just finished so how did you get the news and entertainment?
The radio, AM radio and not stereo either! Radio was central to the families who could afford a large freestanding receiver or perhaps the battery run mantel radio but the point is that radio was the means to keep in touch with the world events and for entertainment.
One of the entertainment programs was "Mantle Of Greatness", eminating from the "mother land", Great Britain and broadcast throughout the British Empire i.e The Commonwealth. Here in Australia, the weekly broadcast went to air every Friday at 7:45pm across a number of AM (no FM broadcasts in those days) nationwide.
This publication is a "hard copy" of the program if you like to think of it like that ... listeners were invited to contact one of the participating radio stations to receive of copy of this publication. It was never sold in retail stores.
As the publication title suggests, the program dramatised the lives of persons with great significance in history, with a strong bias towards British born men, particularly those who were part of Australian history. The men denoted as "Great Men" were those who were true patriots, true-born statesman voicing their country's aspirations as opposed to the sly misuser of power for his own ends (sound familiar?)
Powerful extract from the introduction ...
"The pure air of freedom, which permeates all lands in which the English tongue is spoken, is poison to the tyrant and to the pretender, to class faction and to the police state."
MANTLE OF GREATNESS - Historical Radio Program publication
Circa 1950's
No publisher is credited with this publication
Printed by Publicity Press, Sydney 1948
First Edition
Soft cover, Quarto format
20 pages
Complete set of 8 colour plates, created by various artists including Charles Meere & Arthur Murch. These colour plates are loosely fitted, enabling fairly easy removal and framing if desired.
Who are the men who had achieved GREATNESS?
JOHN CHURCHILL
HENRY PARKES
ALFRED DEAKIN
WILLIAM CHARLES WENTWORTH
LACHLAN MACQUARIE
WINSTON SPENCER CHURCHILL
BERNARD LAW MONTGOMERY
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
The artists who created the colour plates are also very notable Australian & NZ war time artists of the day
Double metal stapled spine
All colour plates are included (I have seen some copies of this publication with colour plates removed, this copy has all of the plates intact)
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED
CLEAN
Spine is intact and secure
NO missing pages!
Very light "foxing" can be see "here and there", these appear as small Brown spots and are due to the reaction of the paper material with the atmosphere. Considering the 70+ years age of this publication, this paper is of high quality as evidenced by the very low "foxing" present.
All colour plates (created by well known Australian & NZ war artists of the day and credited in the introductary pages - these are NOT photographs) are in very good condition, clean with good colour rendition.
I have now placed this publication onto a stiff cardboard backing and sealed within a cellowrap (not ordinary PVC) to maintain the condition.
