Regular readers will know that when I am in a bookshop, my 'oooh shiny!' response is often triggered by a bit of mid-20th-century artwork or illustration, even when that occasionally verges on the kitsch! So you won't be surprised to know that flicking through the Empire Youth Annual from 1951 I was tempted to part with a couple of pounds by these and some of the other illustrations.
This is a collection of images from a time when a boy or girl in the UK had geography lessons which consisted of learning the primary commodities produced and traded by various parts of the world. It is, after all, a rather important part of keeping the Empire running to know where one's sugar, rubber and wheat is coming from! Having said that, this is a rather tricky quiz even by the standards of the time. Twelve calendar based images signed "C. Haworth" give clues to various places in the Commonwealth by way of guessing the particular marine commodities that come from that part of the world. If you are feeling challenged by that then the answers are given at the bottom of the December page but along the way we are treated to some rather good 'period' illustrations I think!
