• A stack of four vintage Warne aviation reference books tied with red-and-white string, placed on a white surface with a glass bottle and nautical decor in the background.
  • A stack of four vintage hardcover books tied with red-and-white striped twine, placed on a light tabletop with decorative objects in the background. The visible book titles include Wild Animals, Basic Aircraft & Civil, Flags, and Commercial Vehicles.
  • A stack of vintage hardcover books tied with red-and-white striped string, styled on a light tabletop with a glass bottle, seashells, and a white woven textile in the background.
  • A styled tabletop scene with a translucent teal glass bottle holding dried eucalyptus stems, next to a row of books with visible spines including &
  • A set of four decorative book spines tied together with red-and-white twine, standing upright on a white surface. The spines are labeled Commercial Vehicles, Flags, Basic Aircraft · Civil, and Wild Animals, with a small publisher mark at the bottom.
1 6

The Blue Loft

Vintage Observer's Books Basic Aircraft, Commercial Vehicles, Flags and Wild Animals Set in Orange, Cream, Grey and Blue

£18.00
£18.00
Tax included. Shipping calculated at checkout.

Somewhere in the 1960s, a child with sharp eyes and a long car journey ahead would have been very happy with this little stack. Wild Animals for the hedgerows, Basic Aircraft Civil for the vapour trails overhead, Flags for the ships in the harbour, and Commercial Vehicles for counting lorries on the motorway. These four vintage Observer's Pocket Books come in burnt orange, cream, stone grey and denim blue, with Warne series numbers at the foot of each spine (5, 38, 29 and 40).

Basic Aircraft Civil, by William Green with silhouettes by Dennis Punnett, is the find of the set. It was published in 1967 and never reprinted, so this copy is a first edition, and a new civil aircraft directory replaced it a few years later. Commercial Vehicles, by L.A. Manwaring, catalogues the lorries, vans and buses of its day in photographs that now read like a road trip through British industrial history. Flags covers national and maritime flags from around the world, and Wild Animals takes us back to the series' natural history roots as one of the first handful of titles Warne published.

Each book measures roughly 14.5 x 9.5cm (5.75 x 3.75 inches). We would put these in a child's bedroom or a study with a vintage globe and a tin car or two, or lay them flat on a desk as a stand for a small model plane. Anyone who grew up spotting lorry liveries and aircraft from the back seat will recognise them straight away, which makes them a very easy gift.

All four are hardbacks in their original boards and come without dust jackets. They show some rubbing to corners and edges and a little fading, but they are sound, with readable pages throughout. Please see the photos for the full condition.

A small stack with something for every window seat.
  • Hurry, only 1 item left in stock!
A stack of four vintage Warne aviation reference books tied with red-and-white string, placed on a white surface with a glass bottle and nautical decor in the background.
A stack of four vintage hardcover books tied with red-and-white striped twine, placed on a light tabletop with decorative objects in the background. The visible book titles include Wild Animals, Basic Aircraft & Civil, Flags, and Commercial Vehicles.
A stack of vintage hardcover books tied with red-and-white striped string, styled on a light tabletop with a glass bottle, seashells, and a white woven textile in the background.
A styled tabletop scene with a translucent teal glass bottle holding dried eucalyptus stems, next to a row of books with visible spines including &
A set of four decorative book spines tied together with red-and-white twine, standing upright on a white surface. The spines are labeled Commercial Vehicles, Flags, Basic Aircraft · Civil, and Wild Animals, with a small publisher mark at the bottom.