Godrevy Light now available A most pleasant evening on 1 July saw the launch of Godrevy Light in St Ives. Pictured here are the authors, Charles Thomas and Jessica Mann, with Godrevy Head and Island and the lighthouse in the background. As well as being the 150th anniversary of the lighthouse it was also Charles and Jessica's Golden Wedding anniversary. Godrevy lighthouse was first lit in 1859 to protect sailors and shipping in St Ives Bay. It is a beautiful and iconic structure that has inspired artists, photographers, poets and writers, including Virginia Woolf. The authors have recorded its history, and representation in art and literature, illustrated with works of art from their collection, and many of the artists were present at the launch. The book was featured as the 'Book of the Week' in London's Evening Standard on 15 July.

New Heritage title

Also newly published is Nicolas Leach's Devon's Lifeboat Heritage, a companion to his book on Cornwall's lifeboats. It is in our usual Heritage book format.

Other 2009 new titles

Michael Messenger's Slate Quarry Railways of Gwynedd is another collection of his photographs of industrial railways, this time from North Wales. The book has over 120 photographs, a third in colour, taken primarily in the 1960s and illustrating the internal railways of the slate quarries in their final years of working. Very few of the photographs have been published before.

Cornwall's Communications Heritage, by John Moyle, tells the story of communications from medieval beacons to the latest satellite technology. Royalties from the book will support the work of the Telegraph Museum at Porthcurno.

Other 2008 new titles

Bishop Rock Lighthouse by Elisabeth Stanbrook tells the courageous stories of the builders, the workmen and the lighthouse keepers who have toiled at this lonely spot for more than a century and a half. It draws extensively on original documents, contemporary photographs and plans, many of which are published for the first time.

Two new titles were published on 1 March 2008. Rendel's Floating Bridges is about the invention of those ingenious structures, early in the nineteenth-century, that made river crossings easier in many parts of the country, and which still survive at Torpoint and at half-a-dozen other locations in the UK. Tacky's Tugs tells all about the Torpoint firm of W J Reynolds Ltd who operated the last fleet of coal-fired steam tugs in Britain, and who were one of the last companies in Devon and Cornwall to use heavy horses on a full commercial basis, amongst other things. Both these books are 144 pages and in a card covered format that enables us to sell them at a modest £12.50 each.

Email abuse

Some person has found it amusing to use our email address to send out vast quantities of junk emails. Most are rejected and clutter up our in-box but if you have been a recipient please be assured they do not originate from us. The internet can be a wonderful resource but is spoilt by mindless vandalism.