in the 1950s Mum and Dad took the News Chronicle as our daily paper, which included a column for kids written by Big Chief I-Spy. For a while my big brother was a keen member of the I-Spy tribe, with its secret codes, badges and signals.
It was a well thought out proposition: you could just buy the books, direct from the News Chronicle in Bouverie Street, and have the satisfaction of filling them out as you spotted each item. But you could get additional status, a badge and an I-Spy kit by actually joining the club. See Wikipedia article.
The titles of the series on the backs of the books (click image above to zoom) give a fascinating glimpse into the lives and concerns of kids in the fities, and the places they would be most likely to visit and things they would be most likely to do. Number one: the seaside – followed by a farm visit, history, a train journey, dogs, countryside, at the zoo, in the street, on the road, London, horses and ponies… The Army came in at No. 17, People In Uniform at 29.
There’s a nice online collection of I-Spy memorabilia available from Paul & Karen Rennie, whose website and shop specialise in British art & design of the 20th Century.
And many thanks for use of the pictures above to Leo Reynolds on Flickr.
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