HISTORY:
Yet another "boys own annual' from my personal collection, many many years ago!
Here is the setting ....
It's New Zealand in the mid 1960's, I was a young lad at the this time and play was all about using your own imagination. There were no "spoon fed" videos via computers or smartphones, in fact television was a rarity as well, and if your family could afford a television "set" which were initially Black & White, or you could make it "colour" by sticking a strip of coloured cellophane across the front of the screen! Programming wasn't the greatest then either, I seem to recall that stations went "off air" around 6pm and after this all you would see on your television screen was a station "test card" - hardly exciting for a young lad! We needed to create our own entertainment and use our own imaginations in those days.
Imagine my excitment when receiving books such as this Annual ... these Annual's transport the reader into another world, a world of excitement, adventures and wonders! Even though the Second World War had "finished" some 18 years earlier, the pain and suffering of the war still burned deep in society and you can easily see this in this boys annual.
So, this isn't "just" an old book! It is a window into the past, allowing the reader to pull apart the "curtains of time" to venture into the exciting "big wide world", covering just about anything a young boy was interested in at that age (except girls!) such as war machines, adventures, sports (Space Age table tennis?) and of course flying saucers to name just a few
Every article is interesting (to a boy) and I just sat down and re-read a few of them for fun. The Flying Saucers article is fascinating ... using "reliable eye-witnesses" from the RAF or RAF Scientific division, it talks about flying saucers buzzing over the Thames River in 1955 and many other reported sightings by those in the know (military personnel)
I had a number of these and other similar publications but some didn't make it through the years and others have found new "carers" so that these slices of youth related history can be preserved.
This Annual was published in 1963 ... now down to the details
NOTE: These following description is from a 'layman's' point of view, I do not collect or trade in books - I am describing this book as I see it now
EAGLE ANNUAL - Number 12 (19638)
British through and through
Published by Longacre Press Ltd
Printed by Eric Bemrose Ltd, Liverpool
Hard Cover
Cloth bound
175 pages
Primarily monochrome print and graphics but there are some coloured "plates"
First thing that hits the eyes when opening the book is a wonderful collage of exciting technology such as rocket ships, the Hiller Rotocycle (whatever happened to that?) Cadillac's experimental car which looks more like a space craft, Hawker fighter jets (the latest killing machine) and of course the "modern" computer (two men in a room dwarfed by very large cabinets - both men dressed in White coats, similar to how a scientist may have dressed in the day.
So, the opening pages are designed to tantalise the reader, the imagination craves for more ....
Next is the all important CONTENTS (see one of the photographs) which offered a wide range of stories, comic strips, sport related activities (for example, there is an insight into Johnny Haynes who was a well known British sportsman of the day. A lot of attention is paid in the article about his personal attributes which make him so great, such as perfectionism, never giving up etc)
Another article deals with how to enjoy life when the family has very little money (a situation that many are in these days too!) - go fishing! The article explains how to do it, tie your knots and bring home the supper! No nylon lines here, the suggestion is to visit the local "haberdashery" (needle and thread shop in British speak) and use some linen thread!
And the stories, oh my! Take one of the short stories about the "white man" going to Africa to solve the locust problem with spray but then being confronted by a frightening mass of soldier ants (which were just a bit upset) It is not only the stories that are interesting but the insights into the cultural attitudes of the time, particularly the British.
said George "the world's all right, it's the people in it that get me down. Let's make some tea and have a talk"
The British were frustrated by the Africans but as always in all things British, having a cuppa tea will solve the problem!
I won't go into more detail about the contents, that would spoil it for you!
The coloured plates are "old style" print technology but still vibrant. One of these is a depiction of the various motor racing circuits around the world (four glorious pages) and a Avro Vulcan B2 jet fighter launching something called a Blue Steel stand-off bomb - boys just love stories about blowing up things! There is also a grouping of military aircraft artwork, one of which is a very nice depiction of Fairey Barracudas attacking the Tirpiz (German battleship) with airborne torpedoes.
Other coloured sections are the cartoon strip Dan Dare (Pilot of the future) and numerous monochrome cartoons!
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED
Clean
NO musty smells!
Good + (in my opinion) overall
If I was asked to grade this Annual out of 10, 1 being "in shocking condition with pages falling out or missing" and 10 being pristine, never been read ... I would give this book a 8/10
Obvious, normal handling wear n' tear signs such as rubbing to the edges of the front and rear covers and some slight page folds but nothing too dramatic.
On the inside front page, lower right, is the original sticker from the shop this was purchased - Farmers in Christchurch NZ (a large, perhaps only, department store of the time in the city)
The condition of the paper surprised me, I have seen far worse than this in the past. No bad foxing I believe it is called (where the paper can react with the atmosphere and slowly go Brown over time) it seems the quality of paper used is pretty good.
I have carefully checked the page count and there are NO missing pages!
The spine is a little loose but not falling apart, the pages being securely held in place.
I hope the above helps explain just what this Annual is all about and what a special meaning these annuals held for young lads in those days.
Now that I have carefully looked through the book, spent a few hours reading the articles and taken a few photographs, it has now been placed in a sealed clear plastic package awaiting a new owner who appreciates stepping back in time now and again
