Crawford's Biscuits are Good Biscuits 1934

Edinburgh, Liverpool and London: William Crawford & Sons Ltd, 1933. First Edition. Grained Leatherette, with cloth spines or sides. Fine. A most unusual trade catalogue combined with a diary and blotter/desk accessory! Closed, oblong, 27 by 30 cm, and when the panels are opened wide, 60 cm wide. This was surely intended as a promotional tool in which the attractive catalogue was part and parcel with a freebie likely to be used and valued by the wholesale customer, who in this case would have been grocers and costermongers. The handsome commercial folio fits into the tradition of English biscuit makers who produced fine collectable tins which were sometimes as treasured as their delectable products. The folio opens from the center, with four separate panes then revealed. To the left are calendars for 1934 and 1935. Underneath the 1935 calendar one finds the trade catalogue, full of colorized photographs of the company's biscuits and packaging. This is paginated for 28 pages. The panels to the right hold the diary and a memoranda sheet. The front of the diary has several pages devoted to postal rates, other practical information, and a glossary of French dishes with English meanings. The blotter comes with a small stack of blotter paper, none of which was ever used, and each of these sheets has some pricing by weight data. The blotter looks as if it has never been used -- we have never seen one in such pristine condition before. Also included is the envelope in which it came -- this has creases and wear, but is a remarkable relic nonetheless.