Books on Coventry

I have just found my father's copy of Wakelin's Street Guide of the City of Coventry that he kept in the inside pocket of his jacket. The Herbert has a 1940 edition but this one has no date to it. It does have Westmoreland Road and Bodmin Road that I'm not sure were there in 1940. I will bring it along to the brekkie.

Hi all, thank you so much for your support of my book. I am a Coventry University student currently on a placement year and the blitz has always interested me. You will be pleased to know all mistakes have been corrected by an editor and it has been republished. I funded the project and first print via a Just Giving page and raised £200. Since then I have sold over 50 copies and local bookshops are interested in stocking it! Thank you again for all of your support and kind words. Also thank you to Rob for his help and for adding the pictures I found during my research onto this website!

There is something hinky going on. Certain books are ridiculously expensive and it might be 'our' fault. By that I mean that the 2nd hand book sellers hike prices of anything people show an interest in. 'Coventry' seems to be hotly tipped, simply because some of us have been keen to get our hands on certain books. Gone are the days when you could pick up a decent book for pennies plus postage. Ok, some of the antiquarian books have always been expensive but others have been cheap. Some still are. I just bought 2 very chunky, modern, medieval architecture hardback books including postage for less than £7 in total. At the same time, my bete noire - the Coventry Patmore books - are silly high prices of sometimes over £100. Can there really be a wave of eager poetry readers for those titles or are they bumped up because of the word 'Coventry'? The only exception to my strong dislike of the Coventry Patmore series is Religio Poetae, which reads as Religious Potato in my mind. Every time. Dyslexia rules KO!

Hehe, like it! Who's to say that spuds can't be devout?!? As for your first part though - I've also suspected that for some time now. When I began collecting postcards and things to illustrate the fledgling website in the early 2000s, I rarely paid more than a couple of quid for a card. But within a few years the prices just kept ramping up, and between a tenner and twenty pounds is probably the average now. I often did wonder if popularising Coventry's history online was causing the perceived value of related items to be vastly inflated. There are many sellers on eBay who just "try it on" though, I think. The number of times I see the Walsgrave monument / church corner postcard come up, described as "super rare" and asking over £20 - when in fact it's only one of several for sale at any one time!

And what about those sellers who give incorrect information? Irritated by one seller I contacted him pointing out that what he was claiming in his information was total rubbish and the view (of some runner depicted was actually taken some 15 miles away in a completely different town and a different race.) He did have the courtesy to reply, thanking me and telling me he was only interested in the money... and a couple of years later the postcard is still advertised with no changes. The irony is, it would be snapped up by a collector /athletic historian if the correct details were given!

I feel slightly sorry for the person in France trying to sell a framed picture of Ford's hospital that's not particularly early and was printed back to front. I did tell one person that their view of Bayley Lane was about 100 years younger than they thought it was and fair's, fair they changed the description. Curiously, postcards are much more expensive than older etchings, even rare or unique ones. Like Rob you eventually get a feel for what is genuinely rare but if nobody buys them they're not worth what people are asking. Though, some come with stamps that increase the value and the potential market. Stamps are also an assurance that the card is genuine. The ones to beware of are the Library collection that are still sold today. To get a better deal and an older version, the packets of cards are a smarter choice. The ones that get my goat are the (mostly Australian) sellers flogging new images ripped off from old postcards and even Britain From Above and other museums. They even put writing across to pretend some exclusivity. I suspect that Amazon is part of the problem of silly prices. It uses a formular to auto inflate prices. Those sellers then pass the prices onto their Ebay shops. Other sellers then think that's what the things are worth. I mostly don't buy books from Amazon anymore because no matter how tightly I define what I'm looking for they present stuff they want to push instead. There was a book on Coventry archaeology I particularly wanted but the seller wouldn't come down below £40... a few weeks later I picked up a pristine copy from a pile of them at the Herbert archive for £2. I am really happy that unwanted books are now getting bought and enjoyed, instead of ending up in landfill, but sellers need to be careful they don't kill the market with greed.

Over the years Roy collected Military and aviation books. After I left work I created a web site to try and sell them. There is a lot and I went through every one and catalogued them so we could find them. I used to use Abebooks to check prices, some were coffee table books worth nothing and others a lot more. Some of the sellers had books sometimes up to 100 times the value really ridiculous prices, we think very often the prices weren't to sell but just to show a good stock price at the end of the year.

A good starter in Coventry archaeology here on Ebay - Coventry The Hidden History by Iain Soden. Note that it's not free postage, but the total is still a good price. Grab it while you can.

That's an excellent price for a very interesting and comprehensive book - I hope someone on here will be able to take advantage of that price while it's available.

Not quite books, but I've noticed that a lot of additional Coventry newspapers have been added to the archives recently along with Coventry Illustrated - which so far is tantalisingly few in number but a source of some interesting additions to my collection.

Hello Choirboy, I have a slightly earlier (?) edition of the Wakelin - see scan, it's priced at 4d and I reckon it's just pre-war as it includes Drinkwater Arcade and Vicar lane, Smithford Street (both destroyed in November 1940 Blitz). It lists Bodmin Road but not Westmoreland Road. On the map Bodmin Road exists but is not named and Westmorland Road is yet to be built. In the unnamed Bodmin Road is named Caludon House, presumably demolished to make way for the present housing. I estimate the map to be dated c 1947/1948, there are a lot of adverts for smal shops and businesses, one mentioning television so clearly not pre-war. Do you have a particular interest in the Westmorland Road/Bodmin Road area? Mods note: This conversation has continued in the Hostels and Guildhouses topic.

I just bought the Iain Soden book which has superb colour plates within. How neat that a Coventrian is also a trained archaeologist!

I'm so glad that you got that book, Prof. It has a super chapter on Stoke and its kilns that I know you'll enjoy.

I find I have two copies of Historic England, COVENTRY: Unique Images from the Archives of Historic England. It is a pleasant mixture of old and new, perhaps some are unique though I do not know. It retailed at £14.99 but I would offer it to anyone on HCF for just the postage for this slim volume in b & w and colour illustrations 96 pages. Very slight blemish to edge of back cover but all text fully legible! If you send a message via HCF with your address, I will send to you and ask only the postage costs when you receive it. If you haven't seen it I think I can say you won't be disappointed. Thank you.

Searching for another book on Coventry, I now find I have two copies of COVENTRY The Hidden History by Iain Soden. This is much larger and heavier than the first book I was offering which goes to its new owner tomorrow. Soden's book has 256 pages wonderful colour illustrations as well as b & w. Consequently the postage will be much more. If any HCF reader is interested just send me a message with your name and address. It retailed at £18.99, and I will ask at the post office the likely cost of postage which is all I require from the purchaser! Very worthwhile volume to add to your Coventry library! Would post as Small Parcel rate! Sent to first comer!