The full title of this book is 'Children's Clothes 1939-1970. The Advent of Fashion' by Alice Guppy, editor of the monthly trade journal Junior Age from 1936-1971 and a director of the Blandford-Hyde Publishing Co Ltd who fought tirelessly for the special place of children's wear manufacturers and distributors, and who acted on government-sponsored 'clothing' committees both during and after the war. Published in collaboration with the Pasold Research Fund by Blandford Press, Poole. UK. 1978 1st Edition H/B (c8 3/4"x5 1/2") - with unclipped laminated D/J in clear plastic protective cover - in Prelims + 346 coated-paper pages with 40 b/w line-drawings and 8 Plates in colour on gloss paper. ISBN 0713708964, 1978 price new £9.50, weight c0.71kg net.
NOTE the book is an ex-school library book, evidenced by: DUST JACKET - clear plastic cover; and old sellotape strip across spine bottom, with impression only of usual small label. EXTERNAL BOOK - no evidence at all. INTERNAL BOOK - fpdep - 'ink' reference numbers and partial 'school' rubber stamp; ffep - 'withdrawn'/'school' rubber stamps; remnants of green 'issue' form, and a couple of short 'ink' notations; half-title - 'withdrawn' rubber stamp; and back eps - 'school' stamp. All stamps are essentially clean/unsmudged, if only partly complete. These should be taken into account when reading the following description.
The book, in quite thin but stout dark brown boards with bright gilt lettering to spine, is in very good little-used condition indeed.
There is slight wear, with horizontal crease and a very small bump, to top overlap at extremity of spine, little wear to bottom one, and the spine remains very strong and 'uncreased-by-use' with excellent colour/gilt. There are some very small unimportant bumps on the edges of the boards as well as a 1/2" bump-crease/bump to front bottom corner, but the boards remain otherwise very strong with very good colour. The page-edges are lightly 'dusted'/soiled to top, lightly soiled to side and essentially clean to bottom, while inside - apart from the above 'library' markings - is excellent, the pages crisp bright and clean with no 'curling'.
The brown laminated D/J with orange/white lettering (which has not been removed from its clear plastic cover) seems to be very good also. It: has faded on the spine; has slight wear/'bending' on the projecting unprotected 'inch' at side of each flap as well as the usual slight 'bending' on the top/bottom edges under the cover; and appears to have sparkling colour, although the protective cover itself is lightly 'age-marked' and has a few marks/lines etc on its surface. A really good strong essentially clean 'protected' D/J completing a really good strong clean and very usable volume, quite scarce now but here offered at a very competitive 'post-free' UK price (stamps alone will cost £2.24) with an equal allowance for overseas.
'This is an account of how children's clothing moved out of its private world and into the realms of high-fashion. The momentous years were from 1939-1970. This was the era that witnessed the slow release from the stranglehold of 'not suitable' as the criterion for children's garments to the untrammelled brilliance of the New Young Designers. It was this era that forced the quiet trade to fight the authorities for fair shares for youngsters during the war and battle through the criticisms of the post-war years to emerge finally as an international style setter, and that saw the death of class-distinction in children's clothing. Written by the leading authority on the subject, the book covers every possible aspect of children's clothing during this period, from Utility and Austerity to the introduction of Purchase Tax, from the impact of synthetics to the emergence of fashion in children's clothes. As such, it will provide invaluable reference material for all those working in the textile industry in all its aspects, as well as those concerned with textile research, consumer studies and the history of fashion.'
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