Bitten by the bug
It started as a hobby, but now social historian Helen Day, 60, has more than 10,000 vintage Ladybird books – and counting
by GILLIAN THORNTON
Mention Ladybird books to anyone who grew up during the Baby Boomer years or the Swinging Sixties and a warm glow of nostalgia invariably washes over them. With detailed colour illustrations, each facing a page of text, these slim pocket-money volumes touched the lives of children across Britain.
The golden years of Ladybird books began in the 1940s and lasted until 1972, when the company changed hands at the height of its success. Popularity gradually waned, the UK printing operation closed, and today Ladybird is part of Penguin Random House with formats that target a new generation. But when it comes to the vintage titles, few people know more about the books, writers and artists, and the changing world they represented, than ex-English teacher Helen Day.
Her collection numbers some 10,000 vintage volumes, from traditional fairy tales and nature discovery, science and technology, to the ‘Peter and Jane’ key words reading scheme. She also owns original artwork from iconic illustrators, whose work is enjoying a new lease of life through her website and social media posts.