General Auction of 1046 Lots inc. Antique Enamelled Signs, Vintage Gaming Consoles, G-Plan, Art, Silver & Gold, Wedgewood, Doulton, Many Tools, White Goods, Georgian & Victorian Furniture etc.
Lot 650: A Collection of British Royal Family Commemorative Souvenir Books and Ephemera
A substantial collection of approximately 40–50 vintage softcover souvenir books and pictorial magazines, primarily published by Pitkin Pictorials, The Daily Graphic, and Woman’s Own. The collection documents significant events and figures of the British Royal Family from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Key subjects include the 1953 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, with titles such as The Historic Story of The Coronation and Ritual, The Queen’s Coronation Day, and The Queen’s Coronation Naval Review at Spithead. The lot contains an extensive series of Royal Tour publications covering New Zealand, Australia, Southern Rhodesia, India, Pakistan, Canada, and Kenya. Biographical and commemorative works include multiple books for Princess Margaret’s 19th, 20th, and 21st birthdays, alongside her wedding day souvenir. Other notable inclusions are Royal Sisters (Volumes Two and Three), The First and Second Golden Gift Books of Prince Charles and Princess Anne, and memorial publications for King George VI and Queen Mary. The collection also contains non-royal ephemera, including a Sound of Music theatre programme, a Fred Basset No. 16 cartoon collection, and a British Expresses 1898 locomotive magazine. The items are almost exclusively staple-bound with pictorial paper covers and contain various monochrome and colour photographic illustrations.
Condition report:
The collection is in generally fair to good vintage condition. Covers show typical age-related wear including creasing, edge wear, and surface scuffing. The Princess Margaret 21st Birthday Album by Gwen Robyns exhibits more significant wear and tearing to the cover. Internal pages show evidence of light tanning and occasional foxing consistent with the paper type and age. Staples in several older issues show signs of oxidation. One item carries a small circular auction lot sticker numbered 41.
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