Rarest book?

[MartH]

1 minute ago, Dust Jacket Collector said:

I think you’re right. Fascinating to have a proof of one of the ‘Officials’. Never seen one myself. Wonder what Harrington’s would price it at!

Beyond Silly (Prices)! 

[MartH]

Just got this beauty delivered all the way from Australia, for the princly sum of £80 (all in).

 

The 1914-1918 Report on Survey on the Western Front in very good condition, maps at the back not opened. One of 500.

 

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Looks interesting. Had you heard of it before?

[MartH]

Hi Alan,

Yes I had heard of it before, and it is a very interesting. It has several parts:

General Historical Survey a few pages

Part I. Provison of Maps  84 pages (very extensive)

Part II. Artillery Survey 84-136 (even covers sound ranging and certain a Bragg, who you will be familiar with Alan)

Appendicies 139 -199

Diagrams and maps 17 & 162, stapled at end 3 Table, 7 map

It's in short a history of the Survey during the Great War, and prodution of maps, and covers the other countries approach.

Looking at the production, card covers, staples stc, I wonder what the survival rate is from 500.

Tom last sold a copy for £1,250.

 

 

 

[Dust Jacket Collector]

19 minutes ago, MartH said:

Hi Alan,

Yes I had heard of it before, and it is a very interesting. It has several parts:

General Historical Survey a few pages

Part I. Provison of Maps  84 pages (very extensive)

Part II. Artillery Survey 84-136 (even covers sound ranging and certain a Bragg, who you will be familiar with Alan)

Appendicies 139 -199

Diagrams and maps 17 & 162, stapled at end 3 Table, 7 map

It's in short a history of the Survey during the Great War, and prodution of maps, and covers the other countries approach.

Looking at the production, card covers, staples stc, I wonder what the survival rate is from 500.

Tom last sold a copy for £1,250.

 

 

 

Looking on Amazon it seems there was a copy for sale there but doesn’t say how long ago. It seems to have had a blue cover.

[MartH]

Interesting, the three copies I have seen are this faded brown/green/light blue, which looks blue under certain light conditions. Could have been blue orginally.

I will research and revert.

At least one other forum members has a copies, lets hope they post.

 

[MartH]

So I have looked at the card covers. There is no opportunity to look at any unexposed cover, it's all cover. However the rear cover is a lot less light born, more light blue, especailly when looked at in different light. It may have been orginally blue.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Light can be very damaging especially after a century. I used to keep my old Penguin books in a conservatory. When we came to move all the spines were bleached white.

[MaureenE]

Copies are available online (2 sources) if anyone wants to look at it,  but  no coloured covers.

• Report on Survey on the Western Front, 1914-1918 by Great Britain: War Office: General Staff: Geographical Section (E M Jack) (London: HMSO, 1920). Scanned version, Transcribed version Both 1stmiddlesex.com. Also available linked from Heritage Material, NZSappers. 

Also the related

Survey on the Western Front: Provisional. (Winterbotham’s preliminary report. This was consulted and largely used in preparing the official report EMJ) 1918. Historical Papers: Defence Surveyors' Association Scroll down. Direct pdf.

Maureen

[WhiteStarLine]

24 minutes ago, MaureenE said:

Copies are available online (2 sources) if anyone wants to look at it,  but  no coloured covers.

Yes, it is fascinating to see the original copy in this thread.  Funny to think it was bought in Australia.  I first stumbled on it around 2011 when I read an incomprehensible sentence in a signal my grandfather retained from the Hindenburg Line, 1918:  A 77mm gun at approx A19b96 shooting on positions about support coy who are in vicinity A24c1040.  I would have read both volumes around 10 times.

The Body of Knowledge is a veritable triumph for a country going from a handful of maps of towns with military forts, 1:80,000 Belgian plates and not much else of use to a modern army - to a complete survey over hundreds of thousands of kilometres, using surveyors, aerial photography and contouring.  Then, ending up with something accurate enough for entire battles to commence with accurate artillery fire off the map onto targets no one had seen before.

Advances in sound ranging, introduction of aerial spotting and correction for artillery plus the sheer logistics of getting 23 million maps distributed were all staggering achievements.

Several months ago a Belgian institution wanted to know the modern location for over 10,000 British soldiers exhumed at different points across the fields of Passchendaele.  Thanks to the level of documentation in these reports, a modern computer furnished the answer in a fraction of a second.

Nice purchase, @MartH. 

 

[MartH]

WhiteStarLine, it is very interesting how the growth of knoweldge was so quick, accurate and still is useful today. 

Alan didn't you get something on the Survey recently?

Bragg got an MC for his work, and Father and Son got the Nobel prize, WLB is still the youngest recepient. Once lucky enough to hear my mothers uncle once talk about Bragg, he worked with him.