Observer's Books

Observer's Books

The Observer's Books were a series of small, pocket-sized books, published by Frederick Warne & Co in the United Kingdom from 1937 to 2003. They covered a variety of topics including hobbies, art, history and wildlife. The aim of these books was to interest the observer and they have also been popular amongst children. Some of them have become collector's items. For the dedicated collector this could be a lifetime's work as there are over 800 variations, some of which are now very rare. The values of the books can vary from 50 pence to hundreds of pounds.

The books were produced with paper dust covers up until 1969. Each one had a unique pattern of squiggly lines at the top but these were not very practical because they were easy to rip and stain. From 1970, the covers were protected with a glossy coating. These types are often referred to as "Glossies". From the late 1970s, Warne decided to laminate the covers to the actual books to make them sturdier and more resistant to wear.

The first Observer's guide was published in 1937, and was on the subject of British birds. This is now very rare, and a mint copy with a dust cover is worth hundreds of pounds. The same year, Warne published a second Observer's book on British wild flowers. A mint copy of this book is worth around £220. When the popularity of these was recognized, several more titles were added 'uniform in the series', but during World War II production was limited due to paper and labour shortages. Even so, by 1941 Warne had published the first six Observer's books.

In 1942 a special edition book was bought out on airplanes. This book had no number in the series, as it was bought out to help people spot enemy warplanes. It was reprinted in 1943 and 1945.

The first few Observer's titles had focused on nature, but gradually subjects like geology, music and architecture were introduced. 'Spotter' titles like Aircraft, Automobiles and Railway Locomotives proved very popular. During the 1950s and 60s collecting sets of these books was very popular among children and adults alike.

When Warne was acquired by Penguin books in 1983, Warne bought out new editions of the Observer's books. These were slightly bigger than the original books, and were in paperback, not hardback. The same year Penguin, with permission of Warne, started printing their own, more up-to-date Observer's books. These again were slightly larger than the originals, but were hardbacks. Like the later original Observer's books, the dust covers were laminated to the actual book. There were two types of the Penguin Observer's books: Bloomsbury Observer's, and Claremont Observer's, (of which there were only 12 different editions).

After a hiatus of 17 years, Peregrine Books published the appropriately titled Observer's Book of Observer's Books in 1999, in a format that matched the original editions and was numbered 99 so as to follow on from the last 'official' title. As the title implies, it is a guide to the series with details of its history, authors, and print-runs. As a sign of the series' popularity, this potentially obscure book has been reprinted no fewer than six times. More recently the series has been rounded up to 100 with the publication of Wayside and Woodland in 2003.