Ian Allan Ltd. : Book List : 1947 : Ian Allan Ltd. : London : 1947
A modest early book list catalogue for the Ian Allan publishing company issued in 1947 just five years after the publication of the first venture; the ABC of Southern Locomotives published in 1942. Ian Allan (1922 - 2015) worked in the Public Relations Office of the Southern but the ABC list of the company's locomotives was effectively a private venture. Despite wartime conditions similar booklets for the other main line railways and London Transport followed proving highly popular with enthusiasts at a time when "loco-spotting" was very popular pastime.
Originally Ian Allan kept his job with the Southern and published the booklets from his home address in Staines. By 1945 he felt confident enough to quit the railway and set up his own company at the address shown here in Vauxhall Bridge Road, London. For 1947 the book list shows signs of Ian Allan branching out; the first road title appears, this being an ABC of Midland Red, the Birmingham based BMMO who sanctioned publication. Over time Ian Allan Publishing became the UK's most prolific transport publisher whose stable also included major railway magazine. The Ian Allan Group quit publishing in 2016.
Ian Allan Ltd. : Book List : 1947 : Ian Allan Ltd. : London : 1947
A modest early book list catalogue for the Ian Allan publishing company issued in 1947 just five years after the publication of the first venture; the ABC of Southern Locomotives published in 1942. Ian Allan (1922 - 2015) worked in the Public Relations Office of the Southern but the ABC list of the company's locomotives was effectively a private venture. Despite wartime conditions similar booklets for the other main line railways and London Transport followed proving highly popular with enthusiasts at a time when "loco-spotting" was very popular pastime.
Originally Ian Allan kept his job with the Southern and published the booklets from his home address in Staines. By 1945 he felt confident enough to quit the railway and set up his own company at the address shown here in Vauxhall Bridge Road, London. For 1947 the book list shows signs of Ian Allan branching out; the first road title appears, this being an ABC of Midland Red, the Birmingham based BMMO who sanctioned publication. Over time Ian Allan Publishing became the UK's most prolific transport publisher whose stable also included major railway magazine. The Ian Allan Group quit publishing in 2016.