Festival of Britain 1951

Inspired by the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Festival of Britain held May – September 1951 hoped to provide some respite from the ongoing effects of the Second World War by celebrating the nation’s past achievements in the arts, industry and science, as well as looking ahead to a future of progress and prosperity. The major events were held on the twenty-seven-acre bomb site around Waterloo Station, although events happened throughout the UK. The Festival was almost immediately unfashionable among commentators. It was viewed with suspicion by political conservatives and quickly dismantled and many called into question the Festival’s objectives. This political ambivalence towards the Festival is confounded by its popularity today among collectors, social historians and anybody interested in post-war British culture and society. This book is the first to present the story of the Festival of Britain, held in 1951, through its souvenirs. These objects were produced to commemorate The Tonic to the Nation. Retrospectively, they testify to its enormous popular appeal. Festival of Britain 1951, the newest addition to the popular Design series, places these souvenirs and objects into their historical context and explains the continuing appeal of these modest artifacts. Also avaliable:
Claud Lovat Fraser ISBN: 9781851496631 GPO ISBN: 9781851495962 Peter Blake ISBN: 9781851496181 FHK Henrion ISBN: 9781851496327 David Gentleman ISBN: 9781851495955 David Mellor ISBN: 9781851496037 E.McKnight Kauffer ISBN: 9781851495207 Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious ISBN: 9781851495009 El Lissitzky ISBN: 9781851496198 Harold Curwen & Oliver Simon: Curwen Press ISBN: 9781851495719 Jan Le Witt and George Him ISBN: 9781851495665 Paul Nash and John Nash ISBN: 9781851495191 Rodchenko ISBN: 9781851495917 Abram Games ISBN: 9781851496778