Day 47 - Norfolk and Suffolk

Tomorrow's journey is more of a marathon than a sprint, as we follow the Olympic Torch from Norwich to Ipswich. The Torch relay has given us a new perspective on Britain, and similarly, these Shell Guides took a fresh look at Britain in the1960s.

Suffolk, by Norman Scarfe, London: Faber & Faber, 1966, Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, JMR628

Under the artistic direction of John Piper and John Betjaman, these two books featured new photographs and essays on regions of the British Isles.

[Image] Norfolk, by Lady Harold Wilhelmine, London: Faber & Faber, 1966, Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, JMR581

John Piper was an artist and art historian, whose own work regularly featured the British landscape. Piper's artistic eye can be seen in the photograph selection in many of the pages of these books.

Great double page photographs of the countryside. Whilst the Norfolk guide doesn't have any photos by John Piper, the Suffolk book does and has end paper drawings by Piper too.The photographs often have a cool detachment to them.