Know The Game: Rock Climbing
Date
1958
Format
- Publication 169
Type of Work
- Finished work 5580
Publishers
Locations Made
- United Kingdom 169
"..the "Know The Game" series, published between 1950 and 1990 by Educational Productions in the UK. In a time before the internet, the series was an essential resource for anyone looking to participate in sports & other recreational activities. The pamphlets were cheaply printed in 2-3 colors and highly affordable: just 25-45 British pence each (around $2.25 to $5 in modern US currency). Despite being published as a unified series, each issue was produced in collaboration with a recognized sporting club or association—from the British Sub-Aqua Club to the Royal Meteorological Society—to ensure the most up to date rules and regulations were included. From a design perspective, it's interesting to watch the shift in covers from highly individualized to a more standardized and branded "KTG" format over time. Topically, it's fascinating what recreational activities merited coverage in which era; angling in 1953 vs. tabletop role-playing in 1976."
—Elizabeth Goodspeed
Thu, Dec 22, 2022
Educational Productions only published until 1983 and then A C Blacks took over until publication stopped 2005. But in about 1994 Blacks change the way the books were bound, and all the cover designs changed.
The first book to be published was Association Football (Soccer) in 1948. Altogether there was 137 sports / activities / pastimes covered over the years. Some of these were covered in just one small run while the more popular titles had muti reprints and updated versions i.e., cricket had 12 updates and 22 reprints over the years.
The cover designs alter over the years and were very much a reflection of the era the book was printed in. Graphics in various styles were used up until the 1980's and then these were slowly replaced with photographs. The later Blacks publications had updated covers on most reprints which often showed a “star” performer of the time.