The Treasure Cave
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A Noddy Cereal advertisement from a UK children's comic called TV Comic, dated 7th November, 1959. Thanks to Kim D for this scan.
An advertisement from The Enid Blyton Magazine, No. 18. Vol I. November 11th 1953. Click image for enlargement. A puzzle from Sunny Stories magazine no. 401, March 7th 1947. If you want to try it, you can print by right-clicking on the image and selecting print. Good luck, it's not as easy as it looks.
A game from the front endpaper of Enid Blyton's Annual, published by LTA Robinson Ltd (year unknown). Apologies for the bad scans - they're photographs that I pieced together. If you want a closer look, or wish to print the game, just click on the images. Print by right-clicking on the window that opens and select "Print Picture".
A signature from famous Noddy illustrator Robert Tyndall - special, special, huge, enormous thanks go to Keith Robinson of enidblyton.net for taking the time to ask Mr Tyndall for this signature for me during the 2006 Enid Blyton Day. And of course, thank you to Robert Tyndall!
An advertisement for Malory Close, a development that was built behind Enid's home at 35 Clockhouse Road, Beckenham. See the Photo Album for more details about this house. Thanks again to Cliff Watkins for this scan and information.
The plan and sketch of Malory Towers, as included in the original editions of the books. Click on the plan to see an enlargement of the detail. Thanks to Nigel from The Yahoo Blyton Group for the scan of the map.
The title page and a poem from Child Verses from Punch Magazine, 1925. This is illustrated by Phyllis Chase. Thank you kindly to Cliff Watkins for these scans.
A letter received by Deb Stephens from Enid's daughter Gillian Baverstock. It even describes Gillian's favourite of her mother's books! Thanks to Deb for sharing this very personal and treasured piece of memorabilia.
Transcript of the letter:
16.03.04
Dear Deborah,
Thank you for your letter and for the photographs you have sent me. You have certainly got a large collection of my mother's books! What a lovely bookcase the Angus and Robertson bookshop gave you. I have over 700 Enid Blyton books and I am still looking for some more. The best place to find books these days is on the internet. I don't use it myself but I know that a lot of people do. I go round schools talking to the children about books, creative writing and the imagination. I read stories as well as sometimes I read a story time Bimbo and Topsy to the six year ods. The old doll Amelia Jane goes down very well with the six/seven year olds. Alas, she is republished with golden hair instead of black hair. So, soon she won't be recogniseable! My favourite book was Secret Island and, I remember, I broke off a willow branch and sure enough it grew - just like the willow house the children built. With warm wishes, Gillian Baverstock.
The Famous Five card the letter was sent on:
A photograph of a bookseller display stand for the Faraway Tree series, picked up (for free!) by Blyton collector Deb Stephens. Thank you to Deb for sharing this lovely recent piece of Blyton memorabilia!
A story from the Old Thatch booklet Children of Other Lands (W & AK Johnston Ltd, 1947) entitled Lal has an Adventure.
Scans of the Coronation Prayers from the May 27th 1953 issue of the Enid Blyton Magazine. The coronation ceremony was on June 2nd, 1953. Enid Blyton urged her readers in the letter at the beginning of the magazine to pray for the queen on the day using these prayers. She also wrote a book called The Story of Our Queen (Frederick Muller 1953), illustrated by F. Stocks May, intended to educate children on their new Queen.
For further information (not Blyton-related) on the coronation you can go to The Order of Service for the Coronation or Behind The Scenes of the Coronation.
The letter from Enid from the first page of Sunny Stories magazine no 426, dated Friday March 19th, 1948 - only a few years after World War II ended, an appeal was obviously made for books to supply to German children. This makes me wonder if German children of the 1940's could read English?
From the issue number 18 of the Enid Blyton Magazine (dated November 11th, 1953): A template for children to use to send a Christmas message to the Queen while she was on a visit to Australia and New Zealand (she also visited Canada, Bermuda, Jamaica, Panama, Fiji, Tonga, the Cocos Islands, Ceylon, Aden, Uganda, Libya, Malta and Gibraltar during this trip). The best twelve entries were actually to be posted to the Queen while in New Zealand for Christmas.
A lovely old advertisement on the back page of Sunny Stories magazine no 426, dated Friday March 19th, 1948 - with the instruction "When Mum next buys sweets, ask her to get you some CADBURY'S CHOCOLATE".
