Oh Ladybird Tuesday, how I’ve missed you!
When Ladybird Tuesday first started years ago Tuesday was a day when I was childfree and able to ensure a Ladybird post went up every week without fail. Have you realised yet that for the last 18 months I’ve been running a playgroup every Tuesday and always had at least one child with me and so completely failed to post regularly. Argh! Sorry about that. Something just had to give and Ladybird Tuesday was sadly the victim. Still, only two more weeks left running playgroup – one voluntary role that I’m really looking forward to giving up at Christmas – and then Tuesday mornings will become my own again with Master C at pre-school.
Between now and then though I’m really really keen to give myself a kick up the backside and get back to writing about my still growing Ladybird collection. If you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed that the lovely Aly from Bug, Bird and Bee has been sending me some delightful parcels of homemade fare and in each she’s snuck in some lovely Ladybird books. I miss writing about Ladybird so so much and hence my new year’s resolution (coming a month early) is to bring Ladybird Tuesday back!
So, how I kick off after an absence like that? Well simply with a traditional Ladybird book on a subject that on the surface seems as dull as ditchwater, but actually now makes for a fascinating look back at history. The Ladybird Book of Commercial Vehicles was first published in 1964 as part of series 584 (a series strangely titled “Recognition”) and covers all the commercial vehicles that any avid vehicle spotter might have seen of the roads then.
I never used to understand the fascination that people had with road vehicle, but now I have a three year old vehicle spotter of my own I can definitely say that I now get it! A modern day version of this book would be his idea of a perfect Christmas present!
When spotting these vehicles on the road, look first for the cab and radiator grille designs. These are more distinctive than the bodywork. Remember that each commercial chassis can usually be fitted with a number of different body styles, depending on the sort of work the vehicle will have to do.
This book really is like a spotters’ bible!
Illustrated and written by David Carey this book features 48 different commercial vehicles that were in use in both Britain and Europe. Interestingly Ladybird decided not to revise this title as they did with some of the others in the series, but instead the book was withdrawn after ten years.
There is another interesting little quirk with The Ladybird Book of Commercial Vehicles and that is the paper used for the pages. Most Ladybird books with matt covers (as this one has) were printed on matt paper. The 584 series experimented with a semi-gloss paper which is evident in the copy I have. When you’re used to Ladybird books having a certain feel to them it actually feels rather strange and unexpected – almost cold to the touch. I for one am rather glad that it wasn’t continued across the whole Ladybird range.
If you have a collection of old Ladybird books then please feel free to join in with Ladybird Tuesday. There are no formal rules to follow, just leave a link to any post you write in the comments below and if you’re feeling kind link back to my Ladybird Tuesday category here on Being Mrs C. Thanks!
I’ve also compiled an index of all the Ladybird Tuesday posts to date – organised by series. It satisfies my inner geek and hopefully will also be of interest to others too!
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