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BROWN, MIKE: : Christmas ON THE HOME FRONT

UK.STROUD,GLOUCESTERSHIRE.SUTTON PUBLISHING LIMITED,2004.

ISBN 0750938196.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,illustrated,1st edn.FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj. Bright,crisp,clean,glossy,colour tinted contemporary photographic illustrated front panel of dw/dj with brown+green lettering, red+ green spine with white lettering,rear panel of dw/dj with a contemporary sepia photograph (3 women,1 man decorating/dressing an indoor Christmas tree.); with negligible shelf-wear, bumping,creasing to edges and corners - no nicks,tears or splits present.Minimal creasing to top edges of dw/dj, to the corner tips and to the head of spine/backstrip.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight,clean, solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips,appears unread apart from my own collation.Publisher's bright, crisp,unblemished,sharp-cornered,original plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt letters to spine/backstrip and pale b/w contemporary photographic illustrated endpapers - front: Christmas party for Deptford children, 1943 and rear: Kings Cross underground canteen, 1944.UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,vi-ixpp+3- 190pp [paginated] includes acknowledgements,an introduction,6 chapters covering the Christmases 1939-1944 individually and a Postscript,profuse contemporary b/w ephemera reproduction illustrations,b/w cartoons,and b/w photographs interspersed throughout the text and the book,a bibliography and an index; plus [unpaginated] title page and contents list/table. The outbreak of war in 1939 saw the disappearance of many traditional British celebrations.Guy Fawkes' Night went immediately - gunpowder production was needed for the war effort and bonfires contravened the blackout. Summer holidays became a thing of the past and Easter all but disappeared as chocolate - and even real eggs - went 'on the ration'.In spite of this the nation remained determined to celebrate Christmas as a time of family and community; a time when war could be set aside,if only for a day. Drawing upon personal recollections, contemporary Mass Observation reports,newspaper articles and advertisements,personal and archive photographs,Mike Brown looks at each wartime Christmas on the British Home Front,from 1939 to 1944.He explores how people celebrted Christmas despite the problems of shortages,rationing,the blackout,Luftwaffe raids and the absence of family members who had been called up or evacuated. Life in Britain changed dramatically as the war progressed; the annual celebration of Christmas provides fascinating yearly 'snapshots', illuminating the changes over six years of conflict.What was the weather like? What was on the wireless? What were the popular records and sheet music of the time? What films were showing at the cinema? What about the pantomimes,shows and concerts? Parties,decorations and trees? Gifts and food are discussed with a look at the presents available,and in vogue.As shortages really took a hold,the various make-do-and-mend solutions are described,and insights are gained into how people adapted food recipes to cope. Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,illustrated,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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