After seeing Wote's colouring book on the blog Arto sent me this great bloglet:
Hi Paul, here's my favourite colouring book from Finland. In the beginning of the Sixties, a Dutch printing company Mulder produced a small run of children's books for the Finnish market. I believe they were printed jointly for several countries, so this Askartelukirja (Activity Book) may well be familiar also elsewhere. Apart from one colour-it-yourself rocket, there are virtually no space-themed illustrations inside. But for me the upbeat cover makes up for everything, with two young astronauts sending off a rocket (to the SWORD Moonbase, no doubt).
The book has no year of publication (which is around 1964), but bears a product number 2812 C and "Printed in Holland". I have not come across another copy, neither used nor unused as this one is. As Wotan noted, vintage examples of colouring / activity books are scarce, an unused one even more so.
Arto"
Markka Go Up ... But It's Not Inflation
ReplyDeleteMillions of markka went up on a column of flame last Wednesday when Astronaut Major Jarvi Linnasalo made the mistake of taking his two children on a tour of the launch base.
"I told them not to touch a thing," he said with a twinkle in his eyes, "but kids, eh? What can you do?"
Finland's Rocket Centre take a dimmer view of the matter. The Director of the base, Valkoinen Ruutu, was sobbing as he explained his stance. "Years of planning gone up in smoke! If I ever get my hands on those brats ..."
Arto, did you actually have a copy of this as a child? And if you had, did you colour-in yours?
ReplyDeleteWhat Major Linnasalo did not know was the fact that his two children had been secretly assigned by the Bank of Finland, to get rid of tons of obsolete currency after the revaluation of markka in 1963. Talk about combining business and pleasure!
ReplyDeleteMust say I did not have much use for a colouring book in '64 and better that way, otherwise it would have suffered the same kind of fate as my ASC Batmobile given by my godfather. Believe me Toadie, you do not want to know... (me neither, for that matter)