I have in my possession a copy of THE FIRST WORLD WAR A Photographic History edited with captions by Laurence Stallings, published in 1933 by Daily Express Publications. It is, it's fair to say, of its time; the 'Introduction', written by the unnamed editor of the Daily Express, includes the paragraph:
'When night comes men will take [this book] from the bookshelf and live again the days when they played their part in the mad comedy of Armageddon.'
There then follows 300 pages of photographs, which are not for the fainthearted. Captions include: 'Tunic of the murdered archduke';'Ace', this one showing the sprawled body of an airman; and 'Ten thousand dollars for the folks back home', beneath a photo of bodies in a shallow grave.
It's horrible.
The book isn't in very good condition. Although the pages aren't bad, the cover is falling off and the stitched binding is barely holding together.
The question is: what shall I do with it?
Very interesting book and question. Have you tried calling a university, library or rare books store to get their take on what to do with it? Writer’s Mark
ReplyDeleteNancy, the Imperial War Museum already has a copy, but someone has suggested I speak to the V&A, which I shall do next week.
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