Shire Publications imprint: 233 books

From homespun to haute couture, the dresses worn by American brides in the first half of the twentieth century had myriad influences. In Bridal Fashion 1900–1950, living-history expert Kathleen York takes readers on an elegant journey back in time, marking the changes that economics, popular...

Since the dawn of children's television in the 1950s, toy companies have been keen to capitalise on the success of these programmes. Toy historian and collector Anthony A. McGoldrick here charts the history of the most successful TV toys from Muffin the Mule in the 1950s to Star Trek: The Next Generation...

For the first half of the 20th century Great Britain led the world in motorcycle design and production, exporting its products to countries in every section of the globe. However, as the second half of the century began in 1960 this once great industry commenced what was to be a terminal decline....

From lumbering house-shakers on solid tyres to smooth turbo-power in the 1970s, the lorry has come a very long way in a remarkably short time. In the early competition between steam, petrol and electricity, the internal combustion engine had more or less won by the 1920s, after proving itself in the...

The lot of the motorist has changed greatly over the last hundred years. In the early twentieth century, only the most wealthy could afford a motor car and there were very few rules and regulations. Now most British people own a car and are protected by air bags and crumple zones, but also hemmed...

Travel back in time to the era when Carnaby Street led the world, a golden age of youthful innovation and exhilarating pop culture, and a fashion scene that defined a generation. The 1960s was one of the most exciting fashion decades of the twentieth century, during which British pop and youth...

Art Deco was arguably the twentieth century's most popular and memorable design movement, and has come to define the inter-war period with its clean sleek lines, streamlined shapes, bold abstract forms and bright colours. Art Deco Tiles charts the impact of this daring new style on the production...

In the early 1970s, video arcade games sprung to life in the form of Pong, Space Invaders, Asteroids, and Pac-Man, and if you were lucky enough to have an Atari system you could play Frogger or Galaga at home. By the 1980s, arcade and video games were entrenched as a pop culture phenomenon and were...

Poole Pottery is a great British institution, and for more than 130 years has been in the very first rank of producers of tiles, mosaic flooring and advertising panels – as well as the pottery that remains its most famous and collectible product. Founded by Jesse Carter in 1873 as 'Carter's Industrial...

Whether classics like Hershey's, Mars and M&Ms or trend-setters like PEZ and Atomic Fireballs, candy has a special place in the hearts and memories of most Americans, who to this day consume more than 600 billion pounds of it each year. In this colorful illustrated guide, Darlene Lacey looks...

A picture can say a thousand words and the images caught on camera during the Victorian and Edwardian periods provide a fascinating insight into the lives of Britons during this time. Take a step back between 1840 and 1910 and explore the world of work and working conditions experienced by the Victorians...

As Britain moved from austerity to prosperity in the 1950s and 1960s, it became clear that British Railways needed to modernise its equipment and rationalise its network if it was to hold its own in the face of growing competition from road and air transport. After attempting to maintain pre-war networks...

Narrow gauge railways, so well suited to difficult, mountainous terrain, were built in many of the UK's most scenic locations. Their genesis was in mines and quarries where they replaced manor horse-pulled wagons, but their adaptability meant that by the 1860s they were also carrying passengers, in...

After the Second World War, the drive for the modernisation of Britain's railways ushered in a new breed of locomotive: the Diesel. Diesel-powered trains had been around for some time, but faced with a coal crisis and the Clean Air Act in the 1950s, it was seen as a part of the solution for British...