Shire Publications imprint: 233 books

Britain is a country in love with its railway past. Nowhere else do the workhorses of the age of steam exert such a pull; in no other country is the nostalgia for the days when the railways extended to every corner of the kingdom so strong. However, the history of station buildings and signal boxes,...

For much of the twentieth century travel by air was a luxury available only to the wealthy, and accordingly the airlines – Pan Am, BOAC, TWA, BEA and many others – offered premium services that connected far-flung parts of the world with con trails of glamour. This book looks back at the golden...

Tartan is an enormously popular pattern in modern fashion. Beginning as Highland dress, it was originally peculiar to certain areas of Scotland, but is now generally accepted as its national costume: what was once ordinary working clothing of a distinctive local style has been formalised into a ceremonial...

From workaday marigolds to hand-wear custom crafted for the Queen, gloves perform many functions – insulation from the cold, protection from injury, and even ceremonial roles. Gloves have been used since prehistoric times, but in Britain their use as formal and fashion items took off during Elizabeth...

The handsome multicolored streetcar is a nostalgic icon of the some of the most romantic and heritage-rich locales in America, including San Francisco, New Orleans and Chicago, immortalised on stage and screen in classics including 'Meet Me In St Louis' and 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. Streetcars of...

Though beer is one of the oldest beverages around, beer can collecting-particularly in the United States-really picked up steam in the 1930s. Since then, beer can collecting and breweriana has become vastly popular, with a variety of clubs and associations springing up across the country and around...

Children of the 1950s have much to look back on with fondness: Muffin the Mule, Andy Pandy, and Dennis the Menace became part of the family for many, while for others the freedom of the riverbank or railway platform was a haven away from the watchful eyes of parents. The postwar welfare state offered...

Back cover: A dram of fine scotch can transport us to Scotland Highlands or Lowlands, coast or island from anywhere in the world. This fully illustrated book looks at the ingredients and processes, the distilleries, the famous whiskies, and the wealth of colourful tales that make scotch whisky what...

Few cars have achieved the iconic status of Volkswagen's classic and much-loved Beetle – yet its origins are intertwined with the dark days of Nazism. This book looks at those origins, at the marque's initial post-war rescue by the British and the effect of early VW Director General Heinz Nordhoff's...

Aston Martin is now more than a century old – and what a century it has been. Since its birth in London on the eve of the First World War, the company has experienced the highs of racing triumph – most famously in the 1959 Le Mans 24-hour race – and the lows of bankruptcy, yet throughout it...

The Mini, now an emblem of the Swinging Sixties, was in fact the product of an age of austerity and shortage, a simple design intended to make motoring more accessible and affordable for the average family. Ironically, it would become something very different: a modern, classless style icon that appealed...

In the 1950s and 1960s, luxury car buyers, from government ministers to captains of industry, almost invariably bought British. These were stately, dignified, and grand vehicles, with many featuring leather interiors and wood trim. Unfortunately, that market has now largely disappeared and, with it,...

Executions have played a crucial – if grisly and controversial – part in British history and provided the bloody climax to many a life, from Mary, Queen of Scots, Charles I and Dick Turpin to untold thousands of anonymous wretches whose names are now forgotten. With the help of numerous illustrations,...

Often called the sport of kings, horse racing dates back at least to the chariot races of the ancient Olympic Games. Arriving in Britain with the Romans in the first century BC, its popularity among the elite led to the breeding of thoroughbred racehorses and prompted the establishment of a formal...