The BBC Handbooks – the first 25 years 

A highly collectable set of 25 hardbacked BBC handbooks from 1928-1952 with their original jackets in very good condition. Many of these jackets feature significant 1920s-30s art designed by artists like Edward McKnight Kauffer, Irene Fawkes, Tom Purvis and Dora Batty. The 1928 and 1939 are facsimile jackets. The rare 1935-7 issues (lacking jackets) were published in a different trialed and larger format which was not continued. Includes the paperback, The Radio Yearbook, for 1935, with partial loss to rear cover placed over facsimile sheet.  All 8vo.

The BBC’s handbooks were issued annually between 1928 and 1987, except for a pause in 1953–1954. Together with the Annual Report and Accounts, formally submitted to Parliament, these publications were designed to give the public an accessible account of the BBC’s activities. Although the title changed occasionally, each edition typically included a review of the year, highlights of notable programmes, key factual information such as lists of senior staff and governors, updates on engineering developments, audience trends, financial accounts, and a copy of the BBC’s charter. In their final seven years (1981–1987), the handbooks also incorporated the Corporation’s statutory Annual Report and Accounts.

Find out more about The BBC Handbooks and read The Golden Age Era of 1930s Dust Jackets: When Books Dressed to Dazzle