Folio Archives 296: The Folio Book of Days 2002

The Folio Book of Days. Selected and introduced by Roger Hudson. 2002

This is one of the wonderful Presentation Books that were given free to Folio Society subscribers who agreed to buy four books in the next year. They were also available for purchase, this one for A$120 (about £68 at today’s exchange rate).

Arranged as a calendar, the book takes extracts from contemporary diaries, eyewitness accounts and other records of what happened on a particular day of the year through history. It details events from sources as disparate as Boswell’s Journal in the 1760s, eyewitnesses to events in the Second World War, Virginia Woolf’s diary in the 1920s, Samuel Pepys Diary in the 1660s and those who saw the World Trade Centre attack in 2001. There are over 500 entries by 95 different writers, who all have brief biographies at the back of the book.

What interesting event happened on your birthday?

Well illustrated with 160 colour and monochrome integrated photos of actual events or contemporary art works, this 336 page book is an easy one to dip into when a few minutes are spare to be entertained and informed.

The endpapers are plain gilt, and the book is bound in dark blue buckram blocked on the cover with a gilt design based on an astronomical instrument from 1589. The gilt slipcase is 27.1x19.7cm. and has a montage of colour photos and dates on the front.





















































































































An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.

>1 wcarter: superb review and another book to add to my wishlist.

Could I ask about your setup for photographing your books? I have the impression that you have improved your lighting setup at some point.

>2 ubiquitousuk:
My technique has not changed, but I may have become better over the years. My book photos are all taken in non-direct natural light, and all taken with (believe it or not) an iPhone. Initially with an iPhone 8, but for the last year with an iPhone 13, which may explain the difference you are seeing.