Threadbone Magazines, owners and publishers of Unique Dorset Aeroplanes, Women and Tractors Monthly are celebrating the 80th Anniversary of the much-loved publication this month with a special bumper edition of the Magazine as well as - in a separate publishing venture - the issue of a facsimile edition of the Magazine's Second World War "spirit-lifter" The Unique Dorset Aeroplanes, Women and Tractors Christmas 1944 Souvenir Special.
Much sought after by World War II memorabilia collectors, the original is now very hard to find and has been known to fetch upwards of £8 (€2) at auction. A quick perusal of the facsimile confirms that it is an accurate (indeed digitally improved) version of that hard-to-find original and at the same time an illustration just how far the Magazine has come since its days as a stalwart World War II companion and comfort.
'Like all magazines, Unique Dorset Aeroplanes, Women and Tractors has had to adapt to the emerging demands of its readers and tastes have changed considerably since 1944', opines magazine historian Perry Odicle. "What once satisfied the exhausted land girl of the Second World War no longer tickles the fancy of her 21st century male counterpart. Dorset agricultural workers - "horny-handed sons of toil" as it were - have needs which the Magazine is required to meet if it is to survive as their journal de choix. It's a commercial reality', he adds, "bigger AWTs mean bigger profits".
Amos Thresher (86), whose mother Mabel appears in several of the illustrations - generally signalling her interest to a passing airman - has been a subscriber to the Magazine since boyhood. Does he approve of the changes? 'It all depends on your point of view', he says, 'back then, everything was so much smaller. I mean look at the size of aeroplanes and tractors now ... and of course the women. Take this months cover for example - there's no comparison. I think it's the end of rationing that's done it.'
Download the Souvenir in digital form HERE
View the DHRS-sponsored Flipped™ version HERE
The Unique Dorset Aeroplanes, Women and Tractors Christmas 1944 Souvenir Special facsimile is a reminder of a bygone era when everything was different. The cover features a young Professor Thrupiece caught by his great uncle Launcelot Thrupiece from whom he inherited much of his artistic flair.