The Amateur Radio Handbook. Second Edition. 'Dedicated to the Radio Amateurs of Great Britain and the British Empire who in the Service of their County have kept alive the Spirit of Amateur Radio. THE VERY SCARCE WWII ISSUE

8vo., Second Edition, with numerous photographs and diagrams throughout; original pictorial wrappers, covers moderately age-soiled, backstrup rubbed (but all lettering wholly legible), upper hinge tender else a remarkably bright, clean, firm copy now preserved in custom-made red buckram solander case [case not shown in image]. With numerous trade advertisements (many illustrated), the majority of which have been reworded to reflect difficulties of supply. The first edition of the hams' 'bible' was issued in the autumn of 1938 when it was intended primarily for a Home audience. During the early months of 1939 with the growing realisation that war was coming demand increased and a second edition was put in hand with two important new chapters on Workshop Practice and Crystal Band Pass Filters. Fatefully this second edition was published during the last week of August, and despite the official closure of amateur radio 'for the duration' sales took the publishers very much by surprise: 'for many reasons the popularity of the Handbook continued unabated, with the inevitable result that stocks began to fall almost to vanishing point'. With hindsight it seem astonishing that the value of this humble publication was not immediately appreciated at official level; for it seems that it was primarily private demand which spread the Handbook throughout most sections of the Armed Forces and across Britain's global Empire. Given the relatively small number produced and the inevitable wastage rate, copies of this crucial edition are scarce. A RARE SURVIVAL NOW SAFELY PRESERVED FOR THE FUTURE.