Through The Keyfob: Who Makes Love In A House Like This?

An old a treasured logo expected to enjoy a new lease of life.

Industry insiders struggled last year to make sense of the business plan which lay behind the Threadbone Press’s acquisition of near defunct publishing house Allen Ian the back catalogue of which appeared destined to remain forever in the publisher's dusty Shapwick archive. All had long fallen out of print and evidence of the sales of second-hand copies suggested that those still in circulation had retained little remaining favour with the public at large. Concluding, as so often before, that nostalgia wasn't what it was and that the Threadbone Press had taken a distinctly wrong turn, shoulders were shrugged, eye-brows raised and tuts tutted.

In the face of such unified bemusement, the Threadbone Press stuck to its guns, however, releasing in late 2018 When Britain Was Great in succession to the poorly selling Unique Dorset Aeroplanes. Women and Tractors the sales of which had proved deeply disappointing, with one executive remarking that if it had been a film it would have gone straight to video. Bemusement turned to astonishment and stock market watchers held their breath.

Only now, however, is the masterplan - hatched no doubt in that fertile entrepreneurial mind that is the wizard Mrs Amanda J Threadbone - becoming clear, as today sees the publication of a completely revised and updated edition of the classic Iconic Dorset, lovingly prepared by long-established expert and series curator Iris Cocksedge. "This is without question the volume everyone has been waiting for", thundered the Dorset Literary Quarterly on hearing the news; "A Sure-fire winner guaranteed to send them racing to the bookstores", echoed The Trickett's Cross Weekly Page-turner; "One for the Ages", agreed The Melbury Bubb Magazine.

Evidence of the likely volume of sales, should it be needed, comes in the form of a mass pre-order by giant online retailer the orinoco store, whilst staff at all branches of Threadstones have been told to expect large deliveries tomorrow as the book officially goes on sale at 9am.

So will this latest gamble prove a game-changer? Sales and marketing expert Val Ume Sales believes so: "With summer just around the corner and record tourists expected county-wide post Drexit, this is the guide to where to go and what to expect. The possibilities are limitless".

Perhaps the single most significant volume in Allen Ian's extensive back catalogue, new owners The Threadbone Press have cleverly delayed its release until the most opportune moment. Pre-summer sales are expected to be spectacular.

The new Allen Ian website HERE

Full Digital Edition of Iconic Dorset HERE