British and Irish Climbing Guidebooks 1894 to 2011

DescriptionPublished by The British Mountaineering Council, Manchester, 2012, 1st UK Edition, Softback – card covers, No D/w (none issued), Mint.    This excellent reference work, meticulously and accurately compiled, provides bibliographical information on over a thousand guidebooks, with colour photographs of the covers of the guidebooks listed.  The volume starts with a 38 page ‘Short History of British and Irish Guidebooks’, which is a personal overview by Geoff Milburn, and is an excellent read and introduction to the bulk of the guidebook listings, which runs to a further 368 pages.  For anyone with an interest in the development and recording of rock climbing throughout the twentieth century, and of course for all collectors of guidebooks, this is an essential reference work.