Tribute to John Sansom
All at Bristol Books were saddened to hear of the death of John Sansom of Redcliffe Press. He put Bristol on the publishing map and he will be sadly missed by all in the publishing community.
All at Bristol Books were saddened to hear of the death of John Sansom of Redcliffe Press. He put Bristol on the publishing map and he will be sadly missed by all in the publishing community.
John, was also a lovely, friendly, knowledgeable man and we extend our condolences to his wife Angela, his children and grandchildren. In 2011 he was awarded a Doctor of Letters honorary degree by Bristol University. Below is part of a biography published at that time, which we reproduce as as tribute.
Michael Liversidge, Emeritus Dean of Arts, said at the ceremony “The Redcliffe Press rose to local prominence principally, but not exclusively, as a publisher of books about Bristol, its region and the West Country.
“It has made books about the history and culture of Bristol and Bristolians accessible to the public, and has done much to awaken interest in the city and its heritage.
“John can also claim his own place in Bristol’s history as one of a small select company of publishers who have started up and stayed on here.”
John had two previous careers before work brought him to Bristol where he reinvented himself as publisher.
He joined the Royal Air Force after school where he did his National Service as a clerk, learning shorthand and typing while he thought about becoming a journalist or writer later in life.
Then, in 1957, he got a job with Berkshire County Council where he learnt accounting and business skills in the audit department.
But a career in local government didn’t appeal to John so he joined the Bristol and West Building Society and soon became a branch manager in Swindon.
With his success came the prospect of a career in management, a future John decided to shun in favour of writing.
He began to do freelance financial journalism while immersing himself into Bristol’s cultural life, which gave him the opportunity to write about the arts.
John then branched out into the risky business of publishing books and his first book, entitled Children’s Bristol, was a runaway success in 1976 and had to be reprinted within days of going on sale.
Redcliffe Press went on to expand into academic as well as popular history, books about art and architecture, its own poetry imprint, cricket and cuisine, football and trams, theatre and many other subjects.
Along with his wife Angela and their daughters, the family established a second imprint called Sansom and Company in 1995, which specialises in the fine arts, and launched a third called Art Dictionaries in 1998.
In that time he worked tirelessly with scores of authors and produced several hundred books, involving himself creatively in every part of what can be a long process.
While Bristol remains an important focus for what it does, John’s collection of books have cast their nets far wider than the West Country and acquired a national, and indeed international, profile.
John was also an active supporter of The Royal West of England Academy, the Bristol Short Story Competition, the Bristol Civic Society and The Friends of Bristol Art Gallery.
The part he’s played in Bristol life over several decades has been recognised by the Bristol Evening Post, with its Lifetime Achievement Award, and by the City with the rare civic distinction of a Lord Mayor’s Medal.
45 bridges and a 45km walk that spans 1,000 years of Bristol's history
From Brycgstow To Bristol In 45 Bridges, by Jeff Lucas and Dr Thilo Gross, has been published this month by Bristol Books.
From Brycgstow To Bristol In 45 Bridges, by Jeff Lucas and Dr Thilo Gross, has been published this month by Bristol Books.
The importance of bridges to the city of Bristol is written into its very name; the first written reference to the city, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 1051, calls it Brycgstow, which means ‘place by the bridge’.
Each one of Bristol’s bridges, from oldest to newest, has a fascinating story which is woven intimately into the 1,000-year history of the city. Why was it built? What was involved in its design, engineering and construction? What dramatic events sometimes swirled around and perhaps on it?
In this book Jeff Lucas tells the story of each of the 45 bridges which span the main waterways of Bristol, between Avonmouth and St Anne’s, and which can be crossed on foot.
Among the historic bridge-related episodes that Jeff recounts are the Bristol Bridge massacre of 1793, the Bathurst Basin naphtha explosion of 1888, and the mass gas workers strike of 1889.
Illustrated with 120 colour photographs, this book will open up new ways of looking at these often-beautiful structures that we usually take for granted.
The book also describes how the bridges can be linked into a 45km circular walk that takes you from the nooks and crannies of the inner city to the open vistas of the Severn Estuary and back again.
This walk is also the solution to an intriguing mathematical puzzle called The Königsberg Bridge Problem: how to walk around a given set of bridges, crossing each one only once.
The problem has been solved for Bristol’s 45 bridges by Thilo Gross, a young mathematician who worked at Bristol University. Thilo contributes a chapter about the bridge problem, its importance to mathematics and the modern world, and how he solved it for Bristol.
When Thilo first published his "Bridge Problem" solution in the Bristol Post in 2013, we believe that Bristol became the first city in the world to do so, followed a year later by New York.
If you do decide to take on the challenge of the walk, there is a map of the route and full walk instructions included in the book.
Author Jeff Lucas said: “In everyday life we rarely pay attention to bridges, but they are vital to human society and its history".
“They are of significance economically and socially; they are strategically important in warfare – battles are fought over them. They constitute powerful imagery in literature and poetry. They can be as simple as a plank but also superlative feats of design and engineering".
“They are often the primary subject of visual art and can be sculptural objects in their own right.”
“This walk will take you into strange and not-so-strange places where you will discover the delightful and the dreadful! I hope readers will enjoy exploring Bristol in this new and unusual way".
From Brycgstow To Bristol In 45 Bridges is priced at £18 and is available from books shops or online through www.bristolbooks.org (ISBN: 978-1-909446-18-2).
Cricket book captures 175 years of village life
A new book celebrating 175 years of village cricket opens up a window on life in Somerset through the Victorian and Edwardian eras to the present day.
The book, published by Congresbury Cricket Club in association with Congresbury History Group, tells much more than the story of cricket in the village over the generations.
A new book celebrating 175 years of village cricket opens up a window on life in Somerset through the Victorian and Edwardian eras to the present day.
The book, published by Congresbury Cricket Club in association with Congresbury History Group, tells much more than the story of cricket in the village over the generations.
“The more research I did, the more people I spoke to, the more I realised how the fabric of village life and the development of cricket were intertwined,” said local historian and author Clive Burlton.
The book, with 112 pages, 60,000 words and 250 images draws on the archives held by both the cricket club and the history group as well as recounting the memories of villagers and players, past and present.
Clive, a club vice president, explained: “Among the many nuggets we’ve found is a photograph and an account of a 1907 men v women cricket match in the village with men batting left-handed with broomsticks!
“We also found recipes for all sorts of cakes and pies written by village ladies with known links to cricketers of the time which sparked the idea for a cricket tea bake-off at the Congresbury Fete on June 29.”
The oldest document uncovered is the scorebook from 1919. The first match after World War One was against Weston-super-Mare – the two clubs met again in April this year in a pre-season friendly almost 100 years later.
The book tells far more than the story of Congresbury CC, looking at the development of cricket in North Somerset from the middle of the 19th century with extensive use of newspaper archives since the 1850s.
175 Years of Village Cricket will be launched at The Old School Rooms in Congresbury on Friday June 21 with a presentation by Clive Burlton starting at 7.30pm. Doors open at 7pm.
The book was designed and produced by Bristol Books and can also be obtained online at www.bristolbooks.org
Community Trust benefits from sales of Dolman book
Marina Dolman presented Bristol City Community Trust with profits of the book “Harry Dolman: The Millionaire Inventor Who Became “Mr Bristol City”.
Marina Dolman presented Bristol City Community Trust with profits of the book “Harry Dolman: The Millionaire Inventor Who Became “Mr Bristol City”.
Published by Bristol Books, it describes how Mr Dolman rose from his humble rural roots in Wiltshire to be a multi-millionaire businessman and inventor is based on previously undiscovered hand written diaries penned by the man nicknamed ‘Mr Bristol City’ himself.
The sale of the book generated a profit of £8000, which has generously been donated by Marina Dolman MBE and Bristol Books to the Trust to support their work in the local community.
Marina told the Trust, “I am absolutely thrilled with the response to Harry’s book, and I am extremely pleased to be able to donate the proceeds to support the work of the Bristol City Community Trust.”
Author of the book Martin Powell commented, “It is totally appropriate that the proceeds from sales of the Harry Dolman book should go to the Bristol City Community Trust as Harry was passionate about supporting the local community.
“Keeping the memory of Harry Dolman alive and ensuring all he did for Bristol City and football in Bristol was the main motivation behind the book.”
Bristol City legend Brian Tinnion represented the club at the cheque presentation along with officials of the Community Trust along with the Ashton Gate shop staff, who sold the bulk of the books and where it is still available.
Marina Dolman brought along Harry’s Rolls Royce with the registration HD 11, which was a familiar sight at Ashton Gate in the 1970s.
The book by Martin Powell and Clive Burlton was published by Bristol Books. For further information please click here.
A new souvenir guide to M Shed
Bristol Books have published a new souvenir guide to Bristol’s flagship museum: M Shed.
Bristol Books have published a new souvenir guide to Bristol’s flagship museum: M Shed.
M Shed Souvenir Guide is so much more than a guide book. Packed with great images, objects and stories about what makes Bristol ‘Bristol’, it also:
Explores Bristol’s historic harbourside, its trains, boats and cranes.
Provides insights into M Shed’s galleries and their content.
Highlights a variety of M Shed’s ‘Not to be missed’ objects.
Suggests different ways for visitors to explore the collections.
Unlocks the detail of its amazing panoramic view.
Recommends places across the city to discover more.
M Shed Souvenir Guide is available to buy at the M Shed shop for £5.
