Talk:Observer's Books

Latest comment: 1 year ago by 2600:1700:2480:D2E0:D50B:C2AF:9B2D:2D6E in topic In Popular Culture

External links edit

All the external links are to commercial websites of book dealers. Should they be in Wikipedia? Unless anyone has any objection, I propose deleting them as per WP:LINKSTOAVOID. Tony Holkham (talk) 14:41, 5 December 2014 (UTC)Reply

Let's do it at once. Chiswick Chap (talk) 14:46, 5 December 2014 (UTC)Reply
What a waste of good editors' time.SovalValtos (talk) 16:46, 5 December 2014 (UTC)Reply

Derivation of content edit

The following is personal observation, so not reliably sourced, but may prompt research from someone better placed.

Having an interest in Nature since childhood, I acquired a number of Observers Books, and subsequently other publications including a number published by Frederick Warne & Co. I have noticed that the Observer's Books volumes on a given nature topic are usually abridgements of more comprehensive volumes previously published by Warne in their 'Wayside and Woodland' series, with greatly edited-down texts and of illustrations extensively drawn from the 'parent' W&W titles. The latter were evidently aimed at an adult-level readership and some were originally published, by Warne or other publishers, as early as the 1890s. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.200.40.9 (talk) 11:27, 4 February 2021 (UTC)Reply

Yes, see
  • Marren, Peter; Carter, John (2002) [1999]. The Observer's Book of Observer's Books (revised ed.). Leeds: Peregrine Books. pp. 17, 20, 24, 27, 147–150. ISBN 0-9520268-5-6. 99.
where we find that the first seven (British Birds through to Grasses, Sedges and Rushes) all used pre-existing illustrations, with text derived from the corresponding book in the Wayside and Woodland series. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 16:50, 4 February 2021 (UTC)Reply

In Popular Culture edit

In the Aardman animated classic Wallace and Grommit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the vicar pulls a reference book off his shelf called "The Observer's Book of Monsters." Surely that's worth a mention in this article? 2600:1700:2480:D2E0:D50B:C2AF:9B2D:2D6E (talk) 23:44, 29 November 2022 (UTC)Reply