22 Jun 2013

Eagle comic and a mystery book

Back in the 1950s, my brother used to get the Eagle comic every week and I got Robin, then Swift. These were quality comics which, as well as the strip cartoons,  had lots of useful factual information and cut-away drawings showing how things were made and worked. The centre-fold was always a complicated cut-away drawing of something interesting for a future engineer!  A few Christmases  back I got a book called, "Eagle Annual, the best of the 1950s comic" which contained a lot of these stories and cut-aways.

One of the regular articles in Eagle was a strip-cartoon called "Professor Brittain Explains" in which a professor shows 2 youngsters how things work like a coal mine, parliament, weather forecasting etc.

Does anyone remember a hardback book along the same lines as the "Professor Brittain Explains" format that was available in the mid/late 1950s in the UK? 

Unless my memory is playing tricks, I had this book as a child and enjoyed looking at it for hours and hours yet I cannot remember the title or the publisher, so searching for it on the internet has proved impossible.

If anyone can remember the title of this book, the date it was published or the name of its publisher I would be immensely grateful and I'd pay generously for a copy.  I have been searching for it now for close on 40 years without success. My hope is that someone out there still has a copy and this jogs their memory. I've asked before and not been successful. The book is entirely in strip cartoon format with the professor explaining to the children about a particular topic on each page. It must have around 100-150 pages.

Trigger any memories? Hidden in the bookcase?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Somebody here might be able to help?

http://comicsuk.co.uk/forum/index.php

73

Unknown said...

I noticed a web blog comment suggesting that Treasure's "Mr. Answers" was similar to "Professor Brittain Explains". I found one Treasure hardback for sale:

TREASURE ANNUAL 1970
MR ANSWERS
Bookseller: Bookbarn International (Hallatrow, Bristol, SOM, United Kingdom)
Published by IPC MAGAZINES LTD in 1969, hardback (no D/J), tall size, wear to edges, owners inscription. Bookseller Inventory # 1200300
Treasure was a British educational magazine for young children published by Fleetway Publications which ran for 418 issues published between 14 January 1963 and 16 January 1971. The editor was Arthur Bouchier.
Treasure was heavily illustrated in both colour and black & white, the first issue introducing many of the features that were to be popular over the coming years. 'Mr Answers' (actually staff editor Edward Northcott) answered children's questions on subjects as diverse as….
There was also a similar strip in The Eagle comic - "Professor Brittain Explains" (to children called Bob and Joan…)

Anonymous said...

Is this it? http://www.comicpriceguide.co.uk/uk_comic.php?tc=looklbook

Roger G3XBM said...

Regrettably no. The book I am searching for was published before this date (mid 1950s).