Famous Five Annual 2016

The books! Over seven hundred of them and still counting...
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Famous Five Annual 2016

Post by Rob Houghton »

Pete - I had the 'white faced' version of the Rupert annual - like just about everyone else! :lol: That was also the first Rupert annual I had - if it was 1973 that means I was only 2 years old! 8)

I have quite a few Rupert annuals, mainly from the 1970's and 80's - plus a couple from the 60's. I also have three or four 'facsimile' Rupert annuals from the 1950's in slipcases which were issued as collectors pieces. :-)

The first ever Famous Five annual I owned was 'Mystery Moor' and I still have a rather large soft spot for it, as everyone knows from my Desert Island articles. I had it for my birthday - probably my 9th birthday, as that happened in January 1980 (depending when the annuals came out - I presume it was the summer of the previous year, so 1979?)

8)

Thanks for the bigger images, Tony!
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Famous Five Annual 2016

Post by Courtenay »

Francis wrote:Finding the 'Brown Face' annual is like seeing a Great Auk!
Robert Houghton wrote:Pete - I had the 'white faced' version of the Rupert annual - like just about everyone else! :lol:
Don't tell me Rupert was originally brown and was changed to white by the publishers?! There's got to be some kind of scandalous racial implication in there somewhere... :shock: :P
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Kate Mary
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Re: Famous Five Annual 2016

Post by Kate Mary »

The 1973 Rupert Annual was Alfred Bestall's last cover. The tradition of the brown faced Rupert on the cover was broken without consultation. Alfred was upset at having his careful artwork ruined. He would never have set a white head against a white sky, and the alterations made a nonsense of his careful use of light and shade. Reportedly three examples of the brown faced cover exist, produced in an effort to appease the artist. They are the envy of all Rupert collectors. (Taken from The Rupert Bear Dossier).

Twelve copies produced or three? It must be the shortest print run ever. Anyway the above is a plug for the brilliant Rupert Bear Dossier, every bit as good as The Enid Blyton Dossier.

(Wandering even further off thread). Does anyone own The Dan Dare Dossier?
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Famous Five Annual 2016

Post by Rob Houghton »

That day in Waterstones in 2000, I almost bought the Rupert Bear Dossier...but Enid Blyton won! :-)
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Francis
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Re: Famous Five Annual 2016

Post by Francis »

Daisy wrote:
Francis wrote:I keep forgetting how young you are, Pete or how old I am! We had to make do with Rupert annuals when I was young.
Not so fast young Francis.. School Friend Annuals, Girls Crystal, Eagle and Girl Annuals were all around in the 50s. - and probably more which I can't remember as well as Rupert of course.
I never liked the Eagle and my sister feasted on the schoolgirl annuals so I was biased!
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Re: Famous Five Annual 2016

Post by Francis »

Robert Houghton wrote:Pete - I had the 'white faced' version of the Rupert annual - like just about everyone else! :lol: That was also the first Rupert annual I had - if it was 1973 that means I was only 2 years old! 8)

I have quite a few Rupert annuals, mainly from the 1970's and 80's - plus a couple from the 60's. I also have three or four 'facsimile' Rupert annuals from the 1950's in slipcases which were issued as collectors pieces. :-)

The first ever Famous Five annual I owned was 'Mystery Moor' and I still have a rather large soft spot for it, as everyone knows from my Desert Island articles. I had it for my birthday - probably my 9th birthday, as that happened in January 1980 (depending when the annuals came out - I presume it was the summer of the previous year, so 1979?)

8)

Thanks for the bigger images, Tony!
I have all the 1950s annuals and a few from the 1940s without breaking the bank but I admit it did take some time.
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Re: Famous Five Annual 2016

Post by Tony Summerfield »

I have 78 Rupert Annuals (I've just counted them!!), some of which are the slip-cased facsimiles, and they take up an awful lot of room. I wish they were all the same size though!
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Re: Famous Five Annual 2016

Post by Francis »

That's a magnificent collection, Tony. I believe they have not made facsimiles of all the early Rupert annuals - unlike the Enid Blyton, Noddy books they have not changed the artwork of the black characters that appear in some of the annuals.
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Famous Five Annual 2016

Post by Rob Houghton »

Tony Summerfield wrote:I have 78 Rupert Annuals (I've just counted them!!), some of which are the slip-cased facsimiles, and they take up an awful lot of room. I wish they were all the same size though!
I agree, I wish they were all the same size! The annuals seemed to become bigger as the quality decreased! Compared to you, of course, my Rupert collection is pretty meagre - although I've never seriously collected them, only on and off. I have 21 Rupert annuals. I also have 8 'Bobby Bear' annuals! :-D
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Kate Mary
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Re: Famous Five Annual 2016

Post by Kate Mary »

I have two more Rupert annuals than Tony - a complete set of eighty (so far) but all the pre-war and wartime ones are facsimiles.
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Famous Five Annual 2016

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Robert Houghton wrote:Pete - I had the 'white faced' version of the [1973] Rupert annual - like just about everyone else! :lol: That was also the first Rupert annual I had...
Same here! I loved that book as a child - it was the only Rupert Annual I owned. I've picked up a few more Rupert Annuals as an adult but I've only got six or seven in total. Wonderful artwork and imaginative stories.
Robert Houghton wrote:The first ever Famous Five annual I owned was 'Mystery Moor' and I still have a rather large soft spot for it, as everyone knows from my Desert Island articles. I had it for my birthday - probably my 9th birthday, as that happened in January 1980 (depending when the annuals came out - I presume it was the summer of the previous year, so 1979?)
My sister and I had already collected all the Famous Five books as Knight paperbacks before we became aware of the annuals, so we never had any of those. However, I bought all nine of the 70s - 80s Famous Five Annuals from charity shops as an adult, along with the seven Secret Seven Annuals, and I like them very much. The presentation may not be up to the standard of modern annuals but there is plenty to read in them. The stories are re-told imaginatively (mixing text with picture-strips) and each annual contains a number of meaty articles as well as puzzles, things to do, etc.

Getting back to the 2016 Famous Five Annual, I think it's another beautifully-presented and enjoyable read. I particularly like Tony's article on the Famous Five play - it's brilliant to see items like the programme, the cast photo, the newspaper report, part of the script and the pages of alterations. All these little "extras" are fascinating and attractive to look at. Tony's pieces on the Famous Five musical, the Pepys games and the Famous Five in America are also fun and informative.

It's good to see Famous Five artwork from across the years while reading story extracts taken from annuals and other books from the 1980s to the present day. Jamie Littler's drawings for 'Well Done, Famous Five' aren't my cup of tea but it makes sense to include depictions of the Five from various eras.

I've always liked crossword puzzles so I had fun doing the "word cross", though it's a pity the answer to one of the clues doesn't fit the grid! My sister and I would certainly have played the "board game" as youngsters and would probably have drawn pictures of the Five on our counters, rather than just writing their names. I doubt we'd have thought much of the 'Island of Danger' maze though, which is so simple it hardly counts as a "puzzle" at all.

All in all, another great annual. Like others, I'd love to see a general Enid Blyton Annual!
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Re: Famous Five Annual 2016

Post by Chrissie777 »

Francis wrote:I have all the 1950s annuals and a few from the 1940s without breaking the bank but I admit it did take some time.
Francis, thanks to you and amazon.co.uk I now possess all 4 EB Magazine Annuals :)! I love them.
How are the ones from the 1940's called? I would like to find them in the Cave of Books, but was unsuccessful.
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Francis
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Re: Famous Five Annual 2016

Post by Francis »

Sorry Chrissie I had strayed into discussing 'Rupert the Bear' annuals (another favourite of many in the 1940s up to the present day). They are fantasy stories featuring a young bear and his animal friends and are in comic strip format.
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Francis
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Re: Famous Five Annual 2016

Post by Francis »

Glad you like the Enid Blyton Magazine annuals - as you know they are the only ones that feature the Famous Five short stories illustrated by Eileen Soper.
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Re: Famous Five Annual 2016

Post by Chrissie777 »

Thanks, Francis. I forgot. :oops:
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