I don’t share a lot of my personal research and resources here- quite frankly, I’m not always sure that everyone is interested in it. (I understand, we all have our own niche interests!) However, I’ve done the two major charity book sales here and I’ve had some incredible finds that I want to share. By some twist of fate, there seems to be two or three people in Winnipeg drip-feeding their royal memorabilia collection into sales, and I will continue to hopefully take advantage of it. These are my 2025 book sale finds- I hope that you enjoy them!
2025 Book Sale Finds
Reception to Their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth programme (Manitoba, 1939)
This is a local find but a particularly fantastic one! In the spring of 1939, King George and Queen Elizabeth carried out a tour of Canada ahead of the looming war. They happened to spend Victoria Day in Winnipeg- it also happened to be Empire Day. The King gave his Empire Day broadcast from the Lieutenant Governor General’s house here (I’ve been in the room where it was recorded and broadcast!) and attended a reception in the evening.
This is a programme from the reception; it includes a list of dignitaries and officials who attended, and the formal address of welcome.
Because we only sporadically get royal visits here, any find is a good one. But this tour was a landmark moment in George’s reign and I’m always happy to find something!
Country Life Coronation Number June 1953
While this piece is not in great condition (the spine/binding has largely separated and the cover is fairly beat up), it was still VERY exciting for me. I have a soft spot for coronation numbers- they are special issues released from newspapers with a full “break down” of the coronation: what happened in the ceremony, the route to and from, the jewels used, the people taking part, the history of other coronations, etc. I’ve collected the coronation numbers for King George V and Queen Mary’s coronation in 1911, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth’s in 1937, and Queen Elizabeth II’s in 1953 from The London Illustrated News. (I also found Princess Margaret’s 1960 Royal Wedding Number at the first book sale in April!)
However, this is the first time that I’ve seen a coronation number from another publication! (I’ve definitely never seen one from Country Life.) I’ve chatted about this in my newsletter where I’ve shared more pieces- I find that coronation numbers are great for the insights they can provide into the period. Ads are a particularly useful way to learn more about people in a given time (or more specifically what advertisers wanted people to want…). And being entirely honest, I find them far more creative than the ads we are bombarded with now.
Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration, Caroline de Guitaut
This is one of two Royal Collection Trust books that I came across, each for $3 CAD. I was particularly excited because there are 5-6 RCT books that I missed out on while they were in print and I’ve been keeping my eye out, but nothing will beat $3 and no shipping! This is a smaller book but it covers a wide range of diamond items in the Royal Collection. We’ve got crowns, tiaras, brooches, swords, and more. (It was created for QEII’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012!)
There are a few reasons I love RCT books. Firstly, you get more information on items that are rarely on display, and it is the most up-to-date and accurate information available. (If the RCT doesn’t know something, it’s unlikely that someone else will.) Secondly, there are also incredible photos. If you happen to see the item in an exhibition, it is still difficult to take high quality photos without reflections. And these, again, are often pieces that don’t go on display frequently.
Royal Fabergé, Caroline de Guitaut
This is the second RCT book, and I was as excited about this one. I was lucky enough to see several Fabergé pieces in the 2019 Romanov exhibition at the then-Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace (you can see my thoughts here). And I will be seeing more in the autumn when I’m in London and seeing Edwardians, so there really is no better time to delve into these pieces. (The immensely detailed photos come in handy for Fabergé pieces, as you can truly appreciate the exquisite detail.)
I also appreciate that this book looked at the various Fabergé acquisitions during each reign, not only when Fabergé was still an active company. It does taper off as the years go on understandably, but I found it interesting to see what each monarch acquired.
♠
I will be sharing more of my rarer finds in my upcoming newsletters, if you are interested in seeing more historic items!
Interested in more book previews, period dramas, royal news, and more? You can subscribe to my biweekly substack newsletter here: https://anhistorianabouttown.substack.com/!
All in all, I hope you’ve enjoyed the highlights from my 2025 book sale finds!
Cheers,
The Historian
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