Colourful England

Colourful England (1971)
by A. N. Court
Jarrold
ISBN: none (because 1971 had other priorities)
Condition: Good — no dust jacket
As sold by Crappy Old Books

There are travel books, and then there are postcard declarations of national optimism. Colourful England belongs gloriously to the latter. Published in 1971, when Britain was simultaneously discovering modernity and stubbornly retaining tea-time, this is a photographic celebration of a country determined to look picturesque at all times.

A. N. Court guides us through an England of cathedral spires, rolling countryside, market squares, fishing harbours, and improbably tidy villages. The skies are generous. The lawns are clipped. The cobbles gleam. You can practically hear the distant chime of church bells and the polite murmur of a cream tea being ordered.

This is England before budget airlines democratised “abroad,” before high streets homogenised, before “heritage” became a managed industry. It is confident, slightly glossy, and unapologetically scenic. The photographs do most of the talking, while the captions—thoughtfully provided in French and German as well as English—suggest Jarrold had its eye on the continental admirer who wished to marvel at thatched roofs without linguistic inconvenience.

The absence of a dust jacket does nothing to diminish its charm; if anything, it gives the book a slightly more stoic, no-nonsense air. The boards are solid, the contents clean, and the overall condition is a very respectable Good—as one would expect from a volume that has likely spent decades being gently opened for nostalgic reflection rather than rigorous academic interrogation.

Ideal for:

• Lovers of mid-century British photography

• Collectors of regional travel books

• Anyone who enjoys the aesthetic of pre-digital colour printing

• Those who believe England looks best under a slightly overcast sky

Available now from Crappy Old Books, where the countryside is always pastoral, the villages always charming, and the decades roll by in reassuringly saturated tones.

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