Rare, out-of-print & unusual books · Since 1997
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European Library, Published 1994. Hardcover, [80] pp. (unpaginated); 15 x 21 cm (oblong); illustrated with 76 black-and-white postcard and photographic reproductions, one per page with descriptive caption. Series: In Old Picture Postcards.
In Good condition, no dust jacket, as issued. Glossy blue laminated pictorial boards with black script lettering and postcard view of Castle Street on front cover; light bumping and scuffing to edges and corners. Binding tight. Previous owner's gift inscription in blue ink on front pastedown, dated London, 1997. Foxing to both sides of front free endpaper and a few faint spots to title page; otherwise unmarked. Pictorial history of the Surrey market town of Farnham in 76 postcards and photographs, 1880-1930, arranged as a walking tour: from the Castle down Castle Street to The Borough, along West Street and Downing Street, across the River Wey at Longbridge to Bridge Square, then East Street, Union Road, South Street and the railway station, with a trip to the surrounding villages. About half the cards come from the author's own collection, the rest from the Museum of Farnham, Surrey County Local Studies Library, the Francis Frith Collection and private lenders. Many images are by local photographers and publishers John Henry Knight, Frank Sturt and Ernest Langham; Knight, who built one of the first British petrol cars in 1895, appears in a family portrait. Captions draw on trade directories and the Farnham Herald and include the Jolly Farmer pub, birthplace of William Cobbett; a 1912 fancy dress carnival at the Farnham Skating Rink; a 1924 lorry crash into a bungalow; and the 1910 memorial procession for Edward VII.