We like antique children’s annuals, mainly for the quality of the plates and attractiveness of the books themselves rather than stories within; although these also have their charms. As an area of interest very little has actually been written about their history, so we will try and address that with our own version of their development.
History
Children’s annuals in this country started to appear in the late nineteenth century, evolving from what were predominantly religious story books. By the second quarter of the nineteenth century, it was obvious to most Christians that it was easier to convey the messages within the Bible to the younger generations via adapted stories, often with pictures, rather than through direct readings from scripture. Thus, compendiums of religious tales were created, parables and stories of forgiveness; lessons from the Bible. The language used would be adapted for the young, and typically illustrated with one or more engravings.
These magazines and books proved to be popular and effective, and it was soon realised that the format could be used not just for religious instruction, but also for children’s entertainment. By the end of the century titles such as ‘Chatterbox’, one of the most popular titles, were everywhere. Chatterbox first appeared in 1866 as a weekly magazine, launched by a cleric, and survived for nearly 90 years. It grew from something with a religious focus to something much broader, and by the early twentieth century included stories for both boys and girls, puzzles, quizzes, poems and interesting facts.
Over the first few decades of the twentieth century the number of children’s annuals mushroomed. Some were thematic, such as sports based, while others were written for boys, and others for girls. Weekly comics appeared, eventually becoming more popular than story papers. These too appeared as annuals, usually around Christmas of each year. Today the weekly story paper and comic has largely disappeared in physical format, replaced by digital versions where they still survive. In most cases only an hardcover annual version is still produced.
Collecting Children’s Annuals
Annuals up to about 20 years are really just for the use and entertainment children. Books older than this tend to be ignored until they reach the age of about 40. At this point people who have a nostalgic interest tend to become buyers, together with collectors, who are may be in the practice of building a complete collection of a particular title. A nostalgia purchase for someone born in the mid to late 1950s might be ‘Joe 90’, ‘The Man from Uncle’, ‘Bunty’, ‘Kung Fu’, ‘Diana’, or perhaps a 1960s version of ‘The Beano’, ‘Dandy’, or ‘Topper’.
There is less nostalgia interest in titles over 60 years old. For books of this age or older there is more collecting enthusiasm and curiosity. This may be driven by either a basic desire to complete a collection, or perhaps for social history reasons. Annuals are a rich source of insight into children’s social history, contemporary clothing, hobbies and pursuits. At 80 to 90 years and above, the scarcity and antique value are factors. A century old children’s annual often contains creative and colourful plates which are often of better quality than those produced in the digital era.
Factors to consider in acquiring a children’s annual.
As with any purchase, quality matters. An irony in collecting annuals is that the quality of a 100-year-old book is often better than another half its age. This relates not only to its content but to the way the book has been bound and covered. Cloth covered spines have protected against decades of wear.
Scarcity is certainly a factor. There are more likely to be far more annuals of 40, 50 and 60 years old still around, but as mentioned earlier, they are frequently battered and worn. Torn pages, pages scribbled on in pen, and spines with parts missing massively devalue their value, unless they are very scarce. An early 1950s Beano could be worth 30 or 40 times a good quality 1980s equivalent even with a missing spine – all down to scarcity.
The popularity of a title can be important, but if there were many produced the scarcity aspect will influence price. If a search on Ebay of a particular year produces a couple of dozen results it is unlikely to be worth much even in good condition.
We like the late Victorian and early Edwardian period annuals, primarily for the quality of their plates, and their rich and colourful illustrations.
Cultural and social considerations
What was acceptable in the 1950s, or 1920s, may not be acceptable today. The language used, while at the time perfectly permissible, may cause offence, as might be the representations of certain ethnic groups or individuals. A ‘Black and White Minstrel’s’ type annual, while perhaps not a children’s volume, would not be a coffee table text in the 2020s. Please bear in mind that it is possible that you will come across something that does not exactly resonate with current thinking. These annuals were very much of their time and should be seen as snapshots of social history.
Annuals for sale
The older annuals tend to be quite heavy so postage costs can be a significant element of the price to you. We are currently trying to work out the best way to get them to you. In the meantime keep an eye on the sub-menu above this page. We will be uploading a selection of some of the titles we have for sale. Please use the contact form (main menu) if you want a price for one or more books.