Publisher's Synopsis
The "Boy's Own Paper" was a weekly magazine that first appeared in 1879. It was an immediate success with boys - and girls - of all ages and classes, attracting many writers later to be famous including Conan Doyle, Jules Verne and G.A. Henty and its colour plates were often produced by notable artists such as Richard Simkin.;Over seventy of the best of the pictures, covering the period from the paper's first issue to the end of the First World War when it was in its heyday, have been chosen for this book and reproduced in full colour. The introduction, describes the "Boy's Own" phenomenon and sets the pictures in context.;Denis Gifford has also written "The Complete Catalogue of British Comics" and has edited "The Best of Eagle Annual" and "The Best of Girl Annual".;The pictures are a vivid memorial to a more heroic, and nostalgic, era. Many are concerned with sport, such as those showing different teams' football caps, rugby shorts or cricket colours, or the types of blues and half-blues at Oxford and Cambridge. Some are military or naval: drum banners, army head-dresses, regimental uniforms, decorations and medals. others celebrate Britain's history and its Empire: flags, heraldry, court uniforms, seals of the colonies, police of the world, the Indian army. A high proportion of the originals were large foldouts, executed in elaborate detail and striking colour, which must have been thrilling to discover in a penny paper, and several of the plates - submarine, battleship, liner, aeroplane, train - are fascinating cutaways.
