Publication of Observer’s Books by Frederick Warne & Co. first began over 80 years ago.  The first book in the series was British Birds published in 1937, and Wild Flowers followed later the same year.  During the Second World War production was limited due to shortages in materials and labour, but by 1941 six titles had been published: British Birds, Wild Flowers, Butterflies, Trees, Wild Animals and Freshwater Fishes.  In total 97 titles were published, and each title was numbered on the spine.  The last title published was Opera in 1982.  

These beautiful pocket-sized books are still collected today, perhaps due to their pretty covers, attractive illustrations and calm prose.  The older editions have coloured linen boards, while the later versions have coloured textured boards.  The Pocket Series had paper dust covers which had a wavy pattern on the edges until 1969. Unfortunately the paper dust covers were easy to tear or stain, so the covers were given glossy coatings from 1970.  From the late 1970s the covers were laminated, so the coloured boards and spines of the earlier editions were lost.  

A mint first edition of British Birds with a dust jacket would be worth hundreds of pounds today.  A first edition of the second title published, Wild Flowers, would be worth in excess of £200. Many collectors look to collect sets of Observer’s Books, with some people collecting one version of each title, first editions, or all the jacket variations of particular titles.  

What to look for when collecting vintage Observer’s Books

If you are collecting these books then charity shops, auctions and flea markets are all good places to start searching.  You should look for books with good condition spines, boards and dust jackets.  Mint condition first editions of early titles are good buys, as are first editions of the later titles published from the late 1970s.

To see the Observer’s Books which I currently have available in my Etsy shop please click HERE (by clicking this link my Etsy shop will open in a new tab). If you would like to see a list of all the Observer’s Books titles in the series, please click HERE.