online store for collectors books on the Isle of Wight

1	Raymond V Turley. "Hampshire and Isle of Wight Bibliography."
	1975. Barry Shurlock. A list of C19th books relating to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. There are illustrations of some title pages. This is one of 250 copies in this limited edition. In its glassine wrapper all in very good condition. £55.
2	*Robin McInnes. "A Picturesque Tour of the Isle of Wight."*
	1993. Cross Publishing. This is number 582 in a subscribers list of 750 copies. Featuring some of the very best paintings and drawings of Isle of Wight scenes from the early C19th. Together they form a fascinating record of life on the island in the years prior to the Victorian influx. The book and dustjacket are in very good condition. £28.
3	*Keir Foss. "The Book of Newtown, with Porchfield, Locks Green and Shalfleet."*
	2004. Halsgrove. Newtown, the ancient capital of the Isle of Wight, has always attracted attention. Twice invaded and plundered, it has held two seats of Parliament and hosted military camps and coastguard stations. Keir Foss tells with photographs and plans, the story of this community down through the ages. Book and dustcover both vg condition. £15.
4	*Sarah Burdett. "The Book of Whippingham."*
	2006. Halsgrove. Whippingham, especially best known for its connections with Queen Victoria and Osborne House. The village became the centre of the royal estate supporting Osborne and Barton Manor. The author sheds some light on the rich history of Whippingham. The book and dustjacket are both in very good condition. £15.
5	*CWR Winter. "Manor Houses of the Isle of Wight."*
	1984. Dovecote Press. The author lists the 126 Manor Houses in the Island and has added a further 15 medieval manors. He has written a full and interesting account of 26 of them. The book is well illustrated. This is the card covered edition in clean, uncreased very good condition. £25.
6	*Donald A Parr. "Images of the Isle of Wight."*
	1996. Breedon Books. The author looks at all aspects of Island life through photographs covering more than a century of lifetime. The snow scenes of 1881 are incredible. Book and dustjacket are in very good condition. £10.
7	*Rock Bros. (Pubs.) "One Hundred and Fifty Views of the Isle of Wight."*
	nd.c1900. Rock Bros. A collection of 150 photographs of the end of the C19th, of island views including the towns, countryside and coastline, including Steephill Castle and The Royal National Hospital, no longer with us. Green boards that are bumped and rubbed in a good condition. £12.
8	*Vicky Basford. "Historic Parks and Gardens of the Isle of Wight."*
	1980. Isle of Wight County Council Cultural Services Department. Illustrated with colour plates and more illustrations in text. The book describes the medieaval deer parks, the early gardens of Roman times and the later Victorian gardens, many of which no longer survive. Card covers in clean uncreased very good condition. £10.
9	*Ron and Pat Winter. "Village Churches of the Isle of Wight."*
	1987. Forget-me-Not Books. The authors describe in full, twentyfour of the most beautiful island churches. The book is profusely illustrated with photographs taken by Pat Winter. The architecture of each building and the people who built them is covered. The book and dustjacket are in very good condition. £12. Card covered edition also vg condition £8.
10	*RJ Maycock & R Silsbury. "The Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway."*
	2003. Oakwood Press. This is the third book in the series of the railways of the Isle of Wight. It is all about a single line, twelve miles long that served the villages and towns of the West Wight. It was soon in a sorry state of repair as was its finances. The Company struggled from 1889 until 1953. Maps and drawings and photographs abound. The book and the dustjacket are in very good conditon. £15.
11	*Ian A Watt. "A History of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary 1839-1966."*
	2006. Phillimore. A republished Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary book of 1967. The reader is taken from the time that policing started in the two counties, until the title was shortened to Hampshire Constabulary. Some interesting early photographs. The book and dustwrapper are in very good condition. £12.
12	*Johanna Jones. "Castles to Cottages."*
	2000. Dovecote Press. The story of Isle of Wight houses. An astonishing range of houses, Roman villas, mediaeval castle, Elizabethan Manor Houses, Georgian Mansions, seaside villas et al.Card covered in mint condition. £10.
13	*Flora Fraser. "Maud. The Diaries of Maud Berkeley."*
	1985. Secker and Warburg. In the world of the Isle of Wight, Maud Berkeley is followed by the reader on her adventures, on walks, picnics, dances and into amateur dramatics on the island and more. This Victorian diary is superbly illustrated by the diarist. Book and dustwrapper in very good condition. £12.
14	*Edwin Cohen. "Birds of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight."*
	1963. Oliver and Boyd. This publication updates the previous work of Kelsall and Munn, which was published in 1905. The book is in very good condition with a chipped dustwrapper. £12.
15	*Bevis, Kettell and Shepard. "Flora of the Isle of Wight."*
	1978. Isle of Wight Natural History & Archaeological Society. This is the hard back limited edition numbered 126 of 400 copies. Dedicated by Bill Shepard. Book is very good with a grubby dustwrapper. £7.50. Card covered editions also available.
16	*David Marshall and David Earle. "Elmfield Now and Then."*
	2007. Published by the two Elmfield authors. This is the living memory record of Elmfield, Ryde. The comparison of the pre-war Elmfield and later with today. There are lots of photographs, street plans and memories. Very nicely done. New. £10.
17	*Avril Pedley. "A Georgian Marriage. The Family Papers of Sir Nash & Lady Grose 1761-1814"*
	2007. Dovecote Press. Nash Grose inherited The Priory at St. Helens, near Ryde, and fell in love with a distant relative who was the daughter of an Island farmer. They married and lived at the Priory. An interesting story of Georgian family life. The book and dustwrapper are in very good condition. £15.
18	*Richard Newman. "Southern Vectis - The First Sixty Years."*
	1989. Ensign Publications. The story of the familiar buses and coaches of the Isle of Wight in the 1980's and those from before. Lots of photographs and information. Laminated board covers in very good condition. £15.
19	*J B Priestley. "Rain Upon Godshill."*
	1947. William Heinemann. A further chapter of an autobiography. The companion volume to 'Midnight on the Desert.' The book has browning to the endpapers, otherwise a good reading copy. £6.
20	*Charles John Arnell.(Comp.) "Poets of The Wight. An Anthology of Vectensian Verse."*
	1922. County Press. The poets whose work is contained within this book were native to or otherwise identified with the Isle of Wight. There are photograph portraits of the poets. The book has blue cloth covers with gilt titles in good condition. £15.
21	*Martin Jenkinson. "Wild Orchids of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight."*
	1995. Orchid Sundries. Contains line drawings, figures and photographs, maps and flowering periods of the orchids. The author has found (in 1995) that there are thirtytwo species of wild orchids in the two counties. Card covered in vgc. £12.
22	*D B Kitchin. "The Solent Chart Book."*
	1898.Swan Sonnenschein & Co. Sailing directions for all rivers and harbours between Selsea and Portland. There are seventeen charts, some fold out with extensive detail. Over 100 years old, this chart books is quite scarce to find. This copy has foxing to the endpapers, a worn cover, but internally a tight copy in good condition. £75.
23	*H J Osborne White FGS. "Geology of the Isle of Wight"*
	1921. HMSO. This copy is the 1975 third edition. There can be few areas that are more interesting to a geologist than the Isle of Wight with its variety of formations and abundance of fossils. The book and dustwrapper are in very good condition. £8.
24	*J Kenneth Major. "The Mills of the Isle of WIght."*
	1970. Charles Skilton Ltd. A superbly illustrated guide to the windmills and watermills of the Island. A map showing the locations and photographs of some. The book is becoming scarce. This copy in particularly good condition. In fact book and dust jacket in very good condition. £80.
25	*Jack and Johanna Jones. "The Isle of Wight. An Illustrated History"*
	1987. Dovecote Press. First edition. The book has become a firm favourite with collectors and readers alike. Well written and photographed by this husband and wife team. This copy is signed by both authors and book and d/w are in vgc. £15.
26	K Adlard Coles. "Creeks and Harbours of the Solent."
	1948. Edward Arnold. Fourth edition. The endpapers are maps of the Solent showing, just after the second World War, when this edition was published, the mining grounds and danger areas of rifle and gunfire. This edition has blue cloth covers with a chipped buff and blue coloured dustwrapper. The book is in very good conditon with a good dustwrapper. £10.
27	Andrew Britton. "Once Upon A Line. Volumes 1,2,3 and 4."
	1983,1984,1990 and 1994. Oxford Publishing Company. A complete set. What started as a chance remark in 1979, resulted in the publication of these four volumes. Recognised by some as the ultimate Isle of Wight railway books, this is social as well as railway history, both anecdotal and with reminscences by the staff who worked the lines. All preserved in print now for us to enjoy. All four volumes in very good condition with dustwrapppers, available as a set for £60.
28	Sheila Caws. "The Isle of Wight. A Pictorial History."
	1989. Phillimore. A book of Isle of Wight photographs, from early times, through the Victorian period and into the twentieth century. The book and dustwrapper are in very good condition. £6.
29	Fred Mew. "Back of the Wight."
	1974. County Press. Yarns of wrecks and smuggling in the true tradition of the 'Back of the Island' This edition is a hardback copy with dustwrapper in very good condition at £6. There are vg card covered copies also available at £4.
30	J Samuel White & Co. Ltd. "White's of Cowes Shipbuilders."
	nd. c1948. Published by J Samuel White. Printed privately. Probably never sold as new, but were presented as mementoes or gifts. This book details the history of the shipbuilding family and the development and success of the Cowes shipbuilding firm. The covers are grey with silver decoration in very good condition. £55.
31	David Swinstead. "The Bembridge Redwings."
	1997. Cross Publishing. This copy is numbered 163 of a limited publication of 500 copies. Illustrated by Cavendish Morton.This is the one hundred year history of the island small class of keel boat, that was designed in 1896. It was 1938 when replacement hulls were designed and sixteen new Redwings took to the water. Book and dustwrapper in very good condition. £30.
32	E F Laidlaw. "The Story of the Royal National Hospital Ventnor."
	1990. Crossprint. Conceived in 1867, founded in 1868 and opened in 1869. The hospital was renamed as the 'Royal Hospital for Diseases of the Chest.' which were prevalent in the 1860's. Dr Hassall described the Undercliff and Ventnor as favourable climatically for the treatment of respiratory diseases. Card covers in very good condition. £10.
33	*G E Mitton."Isle of Wight."*
	nd c1905. A&C Black. One of the Beautiful Britain series, with colour plates by A Heaton Cooper. Decorated coloured boards in very good condition. £15.
34	E F Laidlaw. "A History of Isle of Wight Hospitals."
	1994. Cross Publishing. Dr Eric Laidlaw provides a series of fascinating snapshots of an important aspect of the Island's history. Some interesting maps of the locations of the smaller Island hospitals, ie Ryde Isolation Hospital. This copy has laminated boards in very good condition. £10.
35	Brian Hinton. "Message to Love."
	1995. Castle Communications. The Isle of Wight Festivals. 1968-1969-1970. Pop festivals of the late sixties were new and exciting. They weren't awfully well run and this was part of the magic. They are fondly remembered today and can never be repeated, try as we may. The author has captured the atmosphere brilliantly. Card covers in very good condition. £15.
36	Ian Dear. "The Royal Yacht Squadron 1815-1985."
	1985. Stanley Paul. The history of one of the worlds most exclusive clubs through 170 colourful years.Full of characters and many photographs, the history can be enjoyed as much as the yachting itself. Book and dust wrapper in very good condition. £20.
37	Dr. P T Armitage. "A Bibliography of George Brannon's Vectis Scenery."
	1974. Isle of Wight County Press. All the informtion is here on the George Brannon prints. The author is the recognised authority on the subject and the result is a highly informative work. There are lists of the plates, their locations in the different editions of Vectis Scenery and much more. The book is in very good condition with a worn dustwrapper. £22.
38	George Brannon. "Views of the Isle of Wight."
	1972. EP Publishing. This is a republished edition of Views of the Isle of Wight, drawn and engraved by George Brannon. It is a faithfull reproduction that is as interesting as the original at a more affordable price. The book is in very good condition with minor chips to the dustwrapper. £22.
39	C W R Winter. "The Ancient Town of Yarmouth."
	1981. Isle of Wight County Press. Yarmouth is a town that holds itself in a special place in history as a unique port in the Isle of Wight. Illustrated with photographs. Book and dust wrapper in very good condition. £12.50.
40	Thomas Nelson & Sons. (Pubs.) "The Isle of Wight"
	nd c1875. A series of views printed in oil colours. This is the larger of the two publications found. Brown cloth boards with bevelled edges. A pastedown view of Ventnor form the west to the front cover. There are 24 beautiful plates inside. There is a single inscription to the front endpaper dated 1877. The corners of the book are bumped, but otherwise it is a good tight copy. £75.
41	*Nelson & Son. (Pubs.) "The Isle of Wight."*
	1859. Nelson & Son. With a Description of the Geology of the Island. A Handbook for tourists. Early colour plates and a foldout coloured geological map of the Island. This edition has brown boards with gilt titles. A tight copy in good condition. £25.
42	Lt. Col. TG Cuthell. "A Sailing Guide to the Solent and Poole Harbour."
	1890. L. Upcott Gill. With practical hints as to living and cooking and working on a small boat. All four charts are present and in good order. There are chapters on the harbours of Bembridge, Brading, Seaview, Ryde, Wootton Creek and so on. Decorated maroon cloth covers with gilt titles and decoration. A good tight copy. £12.
43	W H Long. "The Dialect of the Isle of Wight."
	1886. G A Brannon & Co. A dictionary of the Isle of Wight dialect and of Provincialisms used in the Island with illustrative anecdotes and tales. Included are some songs sung by the peasantry in the island. A very good copy. £75.
44	*Rev. J Woolcock. "A History of the Bible Christian Churches on the Isle of Wight."*
	1897. Frederick Lee. Newport Isle of Wight. Illustrated. Includes the moral condition of the people in 1823. Some facts about the opening of the Mission on the Island and the history of individual societies in the island towns and villages. A copy in very good condition. £75.
45	*Rev. J Cecil Hughes. "The Geological Story of the Isle of Wight."*
	1922. Edward Stanford. Illustrations of fossils by Maud Neal. There is a coloured geological map. The book is intended to be an introduction to the science of geology, based on the geology of the Isle of Wight. The book has blue cloth boards with gilt titles, in very good condition. £15.
46	*Alan G Parker. "Isle of Wight Local History- A Guide to Sources."*
	1975. IW Teachers Centre. The definitive IW guide for publications on every source of local information. For general aspects of topography and history, it is an invaluable guide. Card covers, spiral bound in very good condition. £37.50.
47	*Tony Molyneaux & Kevin Robertson. "Final Years of Isle of Wight Steam."*
	2007. Ian Allan. A record of the final years of the Ryde to Ventnor and Ryde to Cowes lines. This book should evoke some happy memories of the O2 class active in the 1960's on those lines. Laminated boards in very good condition. £12.
48	*Adrian Searle. "Isle of Wight at War. 1939-1945."*
	1989. Dovecote Press. The first book to document the history of the Isle of Wight in text and photographs during World War 2. Well illustrated with photographs. Book and dust wrapper in very good condition. £22.
49	*A T Gilliam. "Wight Air Wrecks."*
	2002. Tempus. Many crashes were WW2 wartime, but many were peacetime too. This book is a definitive history of those crashes from pioneer days to the present. Card covers in very good condition. £12.
50	*Philip Norman. "Babycham Night."*
	2003. Macmillan. A boyhood at the end of the pier. By the author of 'The Skater's Waltz' and 'Shout' the Beatles anthology. The author recalls his boyhood at Ryde, on the esplanade and at the end of the pier. Book and dustwrapper in very good condition. £6. Card covered edition also available in very good condition. £4.
51	Isle of Wight Federation of Womens Institutes. "Isle of Wight Within Living Memories. "
	1994. Countryside Books. Stories, memories and anecdotes collected by the Isle of Wight members and recorded here. 256 pages. Card covers in a clean and uncreased very good condition. £8.50.
52	A D Mills. "The Place-Names of the Isle of Wight."
	1996. Paul Watkins. The origins and and meanings of the place-names. The author has researched the development of over 600 Island place-names with their underlying origins and meanings. Card covers in very good condition. £6.
53	Oliver Frazer. "The Natural History of the Isle of Wight."
	1990.Dovecote Press. An illustrated account of the most fascinating and diverse natural histories in the British Isles. Card covers in very good clean, uncreased condition. £10.
54	Dom. S F Hockey. "The Cartulary of Carisbrooke Priory."
	1981. Isle of Wight Records Office. This is Volume 2 in the series. There is a map to the endpapers. The cartulary sheds much light on to the early history of the Isle of Wight. Green cloth covers with a dustwrapper in very good condition. £25.
55	Ward Lock & Co. (Pubs.) "The Isle of Wight."
	1921-1922 edition. Twentieth edition, with over one hundred illustrations, a map of the Island and street plans of Island towns. These annual guides were published from the 1870's through to 1981. They were revised and updated every year and form a very important record of the changing face of the Isle of Wight over a 100 year period. This copy is in very good condition. £12. Other copies from other years available.
56	Raymond L Wheeler. "From River to Sea."
	1993. Cross Publishing. The maritime heritage of Sam Saunders. This the history of the East Cowes Saunders Roe firm from its origins in 1830 to the the year of publication. The book traces the early days on the mainland to the move to East Cowes. The book and dustwrapper are both in very good condition. £35.
57	A E Tagg and R L Wheeler. "From Sea to Air."
	1989. Cross Publishing. The maritime heritage of Sam Saunders. This book traces the history of the East Cowes firm of Saunders Roe from the late 1920's when the company was formed. This copy in very good condition. £17.50.
58	Isle of Wight County Federation of Women's Institutes.(Comps.) "Isle of Wight Cookery Book."
	1977. Isle of Wight County Press. A unique collection of recipes collected and compiled originally in 1934 from the ladies all over the island. This copy in clean uncreased card covers in very good condition. £5.
59	E H Gooch. "A History of Cowes Isle of Wight."
	1946. Published by the author. Topics such as Birmingham Hall, Northwood Park and the Ward family, yacht building and racing, blackballing and much much more. Cards covers in a clean condition with minor creasing. £12.
60	George Marsh. (Compiler.) "Britten Norman."
	2000. Tempus. John Britten and Desmond Norman started it all just after the end of World War 2. They started in a small way with crop spraying, repairs and conversions before designing the classic Islander aircraft. The author recounts the story of the company though pioneering experiments with the hovercraft to the long distinguished service of the Islander. This book is one of the Images of Aviation series. Card covers are clean uncreased and in very good condition. £5. This is just a taster of Isle of Wight books available from wightbooks.co.uk Please don't hesitate to ask if you are looking for another title. There are hundreds of books in stock.