BOOK - THE ANZAC BOOK
1916Rectangle grey soft cover book with drawing of soldier with bandage around his head, holding a rifle with bayonet in front of tattered union Jack flag. Hill in background with shadowed outline of soldiers with rifles. Black text on front. Title above and under illustration [THE / ANZAC / BOOK]. Flanking the word book are illustrations of round black bombs with wisps of smoke coming out of the top. Text under this [Written and Illustrated in Gallipoli by the Men of Anzac.] Publisher information printed under this. In top right corner of cover is a black ring with text inside [2'6 / NET].
Inside the book are articles, poems, cartoons, stories, illustrations and photographs relating to and by ANZAC soldiers who were a part of the Gallipoli campaign.
Title of the book also on spine.
'The ANZAC Book' was published in 1916 and featured illustrations, poems, stories and other creative works from ANZAC soldiers who had served on the Gallipoli peninsula during World War I. The works featured in the book were collected and edited by Charles Edward Bean, a war correspondent, official war historian and later chair of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Bean was covering the Gallipoli campaign at the time and contributed a number of photographs, drawings and versus to the book.
The book had original been intended as a New Year magazine for the troops as Gallipoli but the evacuation of troops from the peninsular on December 15-19 meant Bean, who took all of the works he had collected from the troops, had to come up with a new idea. The new idea was 'The ANZAC BOOK'. A £5 monetary prize was offered for the best design for the cover, which was won by David Barker. Bean edited the book on the Greek island of Imbros and had the work published in London by Cassell and Company. The book not only contained the material collected from the troops that ranged from satirical to sombre and often spoke about life during the campaign but also included a general history of the campaign written by Bean. The introduction was written by General Sir W Birdwood, who explains how he named ANZAC Cove on the Gallipoli peninsula after the ANZAC forces.
The book was a success with over 100,000 copies sold. The book was popular with families who had family members serving during the war.
Details
Details
Publisher details [CASSELL & CO., LTD.]
This item is representative of the story of the ANZAC soldiers who served in the Gallipoli Campaign (1915-1916) which included a number of men from the City of Armadale. The stories and poems within the book provide an insight into what life was like for those serving at Gallipoli. The book was also very popular with people and families back in Australia and would have been in a number of local homes, especially those who had a family member serving.
City of Armadale - History House
City of Armadale - History House
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