Windsor Safari Park Tez
Active Member
Royal Windsor Safari Park.
A Guide to Guidebook Collecting.
© Terence M Bobrowicz.
Apologies for long delay between posts for this subject, but real life sometimes gets in the way.
With regard to information provided by Web-sites in general about Royal/Windsor Safari Park Guidebooks. (2023.)
Of no fault of their own, other than to provide helpful information, both of “the below” web-sites, which seem to be used as the main directories for collectors of zoo guidebooks, and which hold dates and information lists of Royal/Windsor Safari Park guidebooks. Unfortunately, both of their published works are woefully incorrect, in particular regarding publishing dates.
The main reason for this is simply that, (1.) Nobody until now (2023,) has had a full set of all the yearly guides, along with their variants, to compare with each other, and, (2.) Nobody has fully studied the complete collection in any depth.
With a unique full set at my disposal, which including all variants, I have now remedied this information “in full.” My, “Guide to Royal/Windsor Safari Park Guidebooks, © T. M. Bobrowicz,” is now… The Complete Resume.
However, if anyone has knowledge of any mistakes in this document, or… if there are variants as yet not recorded here, then please do contact the author. It is the author’s aim and intention to provide “correct and accurate” information throughout.
It is also noted that there are other web-sites, that use these two groups for information, but who simply “copy and paste” the incorrect information given, and so, there are dozens of web-sites that perpetuate the problem.
The Bartlett Society.
https://www.zoohistory.co.uk/archive
The Zoo Guide Directory.
The Zoo Guide Directory
I state again, that both of these sites have done sterling work to produce their information, which for them must have been very difficult without a full set of guidebooks to work with, and this author commends them.
-oOo-
Royal Windsor Safari Park.
A Guide to Guidebook Collecting.
© Terence M Bobrowicz.
Although postcards are probably the most collected items of all Royal/Windsor Safari Park memorabilia, world-wide, zoo guidebooks are highly prized by collectors, especially when in mint condition. It is now known that over its 22-year history, a total of 31 guidebooks, were commissioned for the park by its four different owners, this includes many variations, up-dates, and four separate Dolphinarium/SeaWorld guidebooks, yet not all owners publish a guidebook each year, while in other years, two or more may have been produced.
Unfortunately, as all four of the business concerns that once owned the park no longer exist, and also because of constantly updated, “data holding restrictive legislation,” it has been almost impossible to find accurate written records from the time of the park’s existence.
Having been a collector for over 5 decades, I know that much, but not all, of the history pertaining to the parks guidebooks has been incorrect, sometimes wildly so. Conjecture, especially by keen sellers of such material, has replaced common sense, especially when dating the guides.
One of the main problems of accurate dating, which has been frustrated by the very fact that there have been “four” owners, is up until 2024, most collectors knew that there were 15 different front covers, and four separately issued guides for the dolphinarium. But did not know how many variants there might be? The only true way to know this was to have a full set of guides to compere like with like. The major problem there is/was, if you don’t know how many variants there are, how does one know if they have a full set? There are few, if any, collectors that have devoted as much time and resources to this problem as I, and I am now confident enough to state that I “most likely,” do have a full collection of R/WSP Guidebooks, but if wrong, I would not be disappointed, because for me the truth is far more important than my own ego.
Now, with a “presumed” full collection, and the luxury of being able to compare “like for like, with some effort, I have managed to “tease-out” those variations, and with this dissertation, I am only too pleased to share this knowledge with others that might have an interest.
Before one can attempt to bring order to the confusion thus far created, it is a prerequisite to know of the park’s intimate history, most of which was never recorded in any form. However, with the advent of the internet (1993,) one year after the park became bankrupt (1992,) it became possible to find, in those early internet days, very limited information about R/WSP. Then around the time of 1999, a new Windsor Safari Park web-site was published by Malcom Brown, which over the next few years became a popular site for both R/WSP staff and visitors alike. This soon became a conduit for a wealth of information, and an indispensable source of detailed material, the site having direct contact to many of the park’s staff. Then with the advent of Facebook (2004,) cupelled with the posting of a new FB group which was formed in 2007 by, Sara Minnie May, who was a regular visitor to the park in its day, and who being saddened by the closure of the park in 1992, formed the group, “I Miss Windsor Safari Park.” Which, with its success over time, and a large following of park staff, became an indispensable source of the intimate history required, and the data needed to sort out the confusion of what guidebook were published when, and in what order.
When armed with the correct visible information, (instead of conjecture,) it is possible to be able to categories the guides correctly. For example, it is a known fact that the parks ostriches and wallabies were sold-on, sometime around the spring of 1975 by the Smarts, and so, guides that predate 1975 have them listed on their internal maps, whereas guides after that date, do not, nothing more than simple logic.
It is a fact that over the years, many of the parks’ guides have been assigned the wrong dates, and sadly this misinformation is perpetuated mainly on the internet, where lazy designers, and web-masters, simply copy and paste the same misinformation from one web-page to another, all without doing any genuine research. To date (2024,) “all” such sights have regrettably failed to produce one single accurate, or comprehensive list, which even in its simplest from, should at least categories the dates of publication correctly. Worse still, most have produced nothing more than a series of front-cover pictures, devoid of any information about the guides, their contents, any editorial variations there might be, or any history associated with either the guide, or Park.
Now finally, and after much research, based on “known” facts, and sensible assumptions, this problem has finally been addressed with this guide. All “know” editions are recorded here, along with their “correct dates” of issue, and all known variants thus far known of, along with the reasons for those variations were known. Also, where needed, relevant historic information has been included too. It is hoped that this guide will now serve as a marker for future collectors of Royal/Windsor Safari Park Guidebooks. I have also designated catalog numbers to “positively” identify each individual publication, and hope this index will become useful to future collectors.
One can be forgiven for thinking that the guidebooks of all menageries, aquaria, and dolphinariums, are unimportant, and no more than a day-trip souvenir. But this assumption is quite wrong. All such guides actually hold a wealth of information and history, that can be easily teased from its pages. Especially were animals, and exhibits are concerned. For example, as mentioned with the ostriches at Windsor, simply by study of the maps, (which all exhibits generally have,) the omission from one year to the next, shows that the named animals may have been transferred to another zoo, or possibly died, and further research with guide-maps from different collections, may well show the arrival of the animals in question, maybe as a new exhibit? Guides are also a useful source of animal names, whereas individual animals are often mentioned, and therefore can be traced*, and with a wealth of photos and explanatory text, guides can be an invaluable tool, that can be used regarding Social History too, which can help reflect times and trends of both local places, and that of a country, or even reflect the animal trade worldwide. In short, each and every guidebook from any animal collection, is actually an ongoing history-book, that is updated year on year, and they are too often overlooked as an invaluable source for research.
*A word of caution here, as sometimes animal names, are, and have been, changed when moved, sometimes while replacing an animal that may have died, to disguise “that” fact from the general public, so two, or more animals, possibly could have the same name.
-oOo-
A thing of its time, and almost forgotten now, surprisingly, Royal Windsor Safari Park was once Britons top day-tripping venue. It could, and did, accommodate anything up to 2 million visitors each year. Assuming that only a quarter of those visiting families bought a guidebook, it would seem that there could have been a potentially staggering, half million copies sold of each edition. However, research has indicated that some guidebooks might only have been on sale for a few months, while others versions may have been sold for as long as three years, and all editions had varying print-runs, while others had re-prints, with or without editorial changes, therefore, there are many factors that can dictate a guidebooks actual rarity, these factors are noted with each guidebook description wherever possible.
-oOo-
A point to note here, is that the Smarts guides from 1971 through to 1974. All used a single-tone background, and when photographed, this background can/could often seem different in colour-tone. This change is mainly due to differing photographic techniques, lighting, and also the screen that a photo maybe, being viewed on.
Part of the printing process is to regularly check the colour tones throughout a print-run, and therefore, background colour variants are generally hardly noticeable. photos used to illustrate the single tone backgrounds, “may” therefore seem to be different variants, but as viewed from the authors collection, when held side by side, under the same light, there is hardly any, or no difference in colour at all. That does not mean however, that colour-tone misprints might not exist. Only, that if they do, as yet, (2024,) they have not been seen, noticed, or recorded. The differences lay mostly in the technology used, i.e., cameras, lighting, and screens viewed on. ©T. M. Bobrowicz.
-oOo-
The Smarts Guidebooks. 1969 - 1977.
R/WSP GUIDEBOOK No: 1. - On the cover of the first of the Smarts Guidebooks, which was published in the summer of 1969, there is a photo of Honey, one of R/WSP’s first dolphins. As the dolphinarium, being one of the main attractions of the park, it was therefore always heavily promoted by the Smarts. On its cover, the term “Windsor Safari Park,” was used, and suggestively at the top of the page “at Royal Windsor,” controversially implying that it had connection to the Royal Borough itself, instead of just “being a place within the borough,” and this point was to be contested by the Borough Council for many years.
On this first guide for the park, the cover carried the R/WSP “Crest,” (as opposed to the R/WSP Coat of Arms.) The crest consisted of a dolphin on a red, white, and blue crown, as featured on the cloth staff uniform badges that were used up until 1977, and they too are now extremely difficult to find. The words “Souvenir Guide Book,” are printed in yellow, which can be seen to the left of the dolphin.
Note: Any “Crested” R/WSP memorabilia that features this motif, denotes that it was produced early in the Parks life, and only by the Smarts between 1969-1977.
Note also: Billy Smart was the first person to coin the phrase “Safari Park,” in the UK.
-oOo-
R/WSP GUIDEBOOK No: 1a. - There are two versions of this guidebook, in the first variant the reference to camels is omitted from the center-fold map, but was rectified and added to a second print, and there are indeed many changes to the second version of the map in this updated second edition. Firstly, there are 34 map entries in the first edition, and 39 in the second, and there is no entries, or even associated letters for items “S and W” in the first edition. Whereas, new entries have been added in the second, being, giraffes to C, camels and gazelles added to D, pony rides added to the missing “S,” and monkey Island added to the missing “W.” While all the same changed references have been added, or altered, on the maps themselves. Apart from the maps, the rest of the contents of this guide remain the same as the first print.
This first Smarts guide has two variants, and was printed by Warminster Press Ltd, and measures 7 x 9 inches, (Small Post Quarto) while within, it has 7 double-sided full colour pages. Both variants of this year (1969,) are considered very rare in mint condition.
Also note: The Smarts actually opened R/WSP in the middle of the 69-summer season to catch the last of the seasonal trade, even though building was still going on, on-sit, and variant 1 was sold in the gift shop in that time. Then the “official” opening was held in March of 1970 by Princess Margaret, by which time the second print had been rushed through and was on sale in the gift-shops. This is why there is some confusion about the publication date of this issue.
Note: No Guide was printed for 1970, as both variants of this guide were only printed a few months earlier in 1969. However, many web-sites wrongly attribute either both, or sometimes the second variant to 1970.
Photo needed here… 1969. catalogue Number 1. Variant 1.
1969. Catalogue Number 1a. Variant 2.
-oOo-
R/WSP “DOLPHINARIUM” GUIDEBOOK No: 2. - Also issued by the Smart brothers in 1969, was the first of four known, but separate “Dolphinarium” Guidebooks. This particular version featured a monochrome photo, of two jumping dolphins, (most likely Honey, and Lulu,) and the title of “Royal”/Windsor Safari Park, in red lettering on a yellow banner, with the word “Dolphins” underneath this in reddish/pink, and “AT ROYAL WINDSOR BERKSHIRE,” on its front cover, along with the red and blue R/WSP “crest” of a dolphin within a crown, featured in a white oblong box, at the bottom right-hand corner of the page.
With only poor quality black and white photo’s within, the bare minimum of text, along with its meager overall design, along with the use of low-grade paper, (Which is classified as, “Ephemeral” by collectors, meaning it was never produced to last any length of time, and would be fragile,) all of which marks this guide out as one of the least attractive of the guides produced for the park, which is probably why it was discontinued after a very short print-run. However, also because of its poor quality, and small print-run, it is “astonishing” that any of these particular “1969” Dolphinarium Guidebooks have survived for any length of time at all, which, without question, marks this guide out as one of the rarest of all the known Guidebooks produced for Windsor Safari Park.
This 1969 Dolphinarium edition was printed by, Raymond Thatcher (Graphic Arts) Ltd, Maidenhead, Berks. It measures 8 x 5 ½ inches in size, and only has six black and white poorly printed photos, some of which featured John Saddler, who was a renowned Marine Mammal Trainer of the 60’s/70’s, and one of R/WSP first dolphin trainers.
Note: That the famous killer whale, (Orca,) Ramu (III), who was Europe’s only killer whale, had not arrived at the park at this time. This Dolphinarium Guidebook, is considered extremely rare in any condition, and mint examples, if found, can command very high prices, even though there are few that collect R/WSP guidebooks worldwide.
-oOo-
R/WSP GUIDEBOOK No’s: 3/3a/3b/3c. - In 1971, the second of the Smarts Guidebooks was produced, and featured the R/WSP coat of arms (as opposed to its crest, used in the 1969 publications,) along with the Park’s Latin motto, Mundus Animalium, which translates loosely to, “The World of Animals,” and for the first time too, in white, the title “Royal” Windsor Safari Park was used as a guidebook title, all of which are featured on an orange-red background, with an ornate black and white page-trim.
There are in fact 4 variants of this guide, the standard edition which, on page 3 is signed-off by, “Ronald Smart” alone, and as the “Managing Director.” Whereas the second variation is signed-off as, “The Smart Brothers,” with no mention of the director. It would seem that Ronald must have overseen the design-work of the first variant, and the other two brothers did not agree to his sole status of director, as in this second variant there is also a line added in upper case at the bottom of the page, (most likely to enfercise it,) that reads “SOLE PROPRIETORS OF ROYAL WINDSOR SAFARI PARK. THE SMART BROTHERS.” In all other aspects the two variations are identical.
However, it is also noted, that for both editions there is a “*Print Error Slippage,” on the front cover. The overall printing with some copies of this issue are noticeably crisper and more defined, while also having light-grey dolphins. Whereas some other prints are markedly less defined, and have much darker grey dolphins. These copies also have a small yellow colour-slippage gap between the right dolphins back, its dorsal fin, tail, and the background. This slippage appears on both of the differently signed variants, and thus may be attributed to a long print-runs, which may have caused printing degradation over time for both of the variants. All in all, this means that there are two variants of this 1971 edition, both of which carry the front cover print error, and so there are “four” items to collect, of which any ardent collector would wish to acquire for this 1971 edition. Apart from the above mentioned, all other aspects of this guide are identical. This edition was designed by Anthony B. Ainley MSIA, for W. E. Berry Ltd, it was printed by The Nesfield Works, Bradford, and it measures 7 x 9½ inches, with 14 double-sided full colour pages. Although all versions are considered scarce in mint condition, the “Ronald Smart,” signed version is the rarest of the 1971 editions.
*Order of variants for the 1971 second Smarts edition/s.
No: 3. Signed “Ronald Smart.” No Front Cover Print Error.
No: 3a. Signed “Ronald Smart.” With Print Error.
No: 3b. Signed “The Smart Brothers,” No Print Error.
No: 3c. Signed “The Smart Brothers,” With Print Error.
-oOo-
R/WSP “DOLPHINARIUM” GUIDEBOOK No: 4. - Also in 1971, in addition to the park’s standard yearly guidebooks, a second “Dolphinarium Guide,” was published to replace the poorly produced 1969 version. Note: Titleled “meet the Dolphins,” (It has a lower-case m?) The front cover features, “Honey” once again, one of the most popular stars of the dolphin show. The cover also has a sub-tile of, “AT ROYAL WINDSOR SAFARI PARK” at the bottom of the page. Many on-line sites state that this edition was produced in 1972, but this is totally incorrect. This guide measures 8x5 inches, with six double sided colour pages, and states it was “designed and printed” by W. E. Berry Ltd, at the Nesfield Works, Bradford.
Hardly ever seen for sale, it can be safely assumed, that this too is one of the rearrest of the Windsor Safari Park guidebooks, and so, is considered extremely rare in any condition.
-oOo-
A Guide to Guidebook Collecting.
© Terence M Bobrowicz.
Apologies for long delay between posts for this subject, but real life sometimes gets in the way.
With regard to information provided by Web-sites in general about Royal/Windsor Safari Park Guidebooks. (2023.)
Of no fault of their own, other than to provide helpful information, both of “the below” web-sites, which seem to be used as the main directories for collectors of zoo guidebooks, and which hold dates and information lists of Royal/Windsor Safari Park guidebooks. Unfortunately, both of their published works are woefully incorrect, in particular regarding publishing dates.
The main reason for this is simply that, (1.) Nobody until now (2023,) has had a full set of all the yearly guides, along with their variants, to compare with each other, and, (2.) Nobody has fully studied the complete collection in any depth.
With a unique full set at my disposal, which including all variants, I have now remedied this information “in full.” My, “Guide to Royal/Windsor Safari Park Guidebooks, © T. M. Bobrowicz,” is now… The Complete Resume.
However, if anyone has knowledge of any mistakes in this document, or… if there are variants as yet not recorded here, then please do contact the author. It is the author’s aim and intention to provide “correct and accurate” information throughout.
It is also noted that there are other web-sites, that use these two groups for information, but who simply “copy and paste” the incorrect information given, and so, there are dozens of web-sites that perpetuate the problem.
The Bartlett Society.
https://www.zoohistory.co.uk/archive
The Zoo Guide Directory.
The Zoo Guide Directory
I state again, that both of these sites have done sterling work to produce their information, which for them must have been very difficult without a full set of guidebooks to work with, and this author commends them.
-oOo-
Royal Windsor Safari Park.
A Guide to Guidebook Collecting.
© Terence M Bobrowicz.
Although postcards are probably the most collected items of all Royal/Windsor Safari Park memorabilia, world-wide, zoo guidebooks are highly prized by collectors, especially when in mint condition. It is now known that over its 22-year history, a total of 31 guidebooks, were commissioned for the park by its four different owners, this includes many variations, up-dates, and four separate Dolphinarium/SeaWorld guidebooks, yet not all owners publish a guidebook each year, while in other years, two or more may have been produced.
Unfortunately, as all four of the business concerns that once owned the park no longer exist, and also because of constantly updated, “data holding restrictive legislation,” it has been almost impossible to find accurate written records from the time of the park’s existence.
Having been a collector for over 5 decades, I know that much, but not all, of the history pertaining to the parks guidebooks has been incorrect, sometimes wildly so. Conjecture, especially by keen sellers of such material, has replaced common sense, especially when dating the guides.
One of the main problems of accurate dating, which has been frustrated by the very fact that there have been “four” owners, is up until 2024, most collectors knew that there were 15 different front covers, and four separately issued guides for the dolphinarium. But did not know how many variants there might be? The only true way to know this was to have a full set of guides to compere like with like. The major problem there is/was, if you don’t know how many variants there are, how does one know if they have a full set? There are few, if any, collectors that have devoted as much time and resources to this problem as I, and I am now confident enough to state that I “most likely,” do have a full collection of R/WSP Guidebooks, but if wrong, I would not be disappointed, because for me the truth is far more important than my own ego.
Now, with a “presumed” full collection, and the luxury of being able to compare “like for like, with some effort, I have managed to “tease-out” those variations, and with this dissertation, I am only too pleased to share this knowledge with others that might have an interest.
Before one can attempt to bring order to the confusion thus far created, it is a prerequisite to know of the park’s intimate history, most of which was never recorded in any form. However, with the advent of the internet (1993,) one year after the park became bankrupt (1992,) it became possible to find, in those early internet days, very limited information about R/WSP. Then around the time of 1999, a new Windsor Safari Park web-site was published by Malcom Brown, which over the next few years became a popular site for both R/WSP staff and visitors alike. This soon became a conduit for a wealth of information, and an indispensable source of detailed material, the site having direct contact to many of the park’s staff. Then with the advent of Facebook (2004,) cupelled with the posting of a new FB group which was formed in 2007 by, Sara Minnie May, who was a regular visitor to the park in its day, and who being saddened by the closure of the park in 1992, formed the group, “I Miss Windsor Safari Park.” Which, with its success over time, and a large following of park staff, became an indispensable source of the intimate history required, and the data needed to sort out the confusion of what guidebook were published when, and in what order.
When armed with the correct visible information, (instead of conjecture,) it is possible to be able to categories the guides correctly. For example, it is a known fact that the parks ostriches and wallabies were sold-on, sometime around the spring of 1975 by the Smarts, and so, guides that predate 1975 have them listed on their internal maps, whereas guides after that date, do not, nothing more than simple logic.
It is a fact that over the years, many of the parks’ guides have been assigned the wrong dates, and sadly this misinformation is perpetuated mainly on the internet, where lazy designers, and web-masters, simply copy and paste the same misinformation from one web-page to another, all without doing any genuine research. To date (2024,) “all” such sights have regrettably failed to produce one single accurate, or comprehensive list, which even in its simplest from, should at least categories the dates of publication correctly. Worse still, most have produced nothing more than a series of front-cover pictures, devoid of any information about the guides, their contents, any editorial variations there might be, or any history associated with either the guide, or Park.
Now finally, and after much research, based on “known” facts, and sensible assumptions, this problem has finally been addressed with this guide. All “know” editions are recorded here, along with their “correct dates” of issue, and all known variants thus far known of, along with the reasons for those variations were known. Also, where needed, relevant historic information has been included too. It is hoped that this guide will now serve as a marker for future collectors of Royal/Windsor Safari Park Guidebooks. I have also designated catalog numbers to “positively” identify each individual publication, and hope this index will become useful to future collectors.
One can be forgiven for thinking that the guidebooks of all menageries, aquaria, and dolphinariums, are unimportant, and no more than a day-trip souvenir. But this assumption is quite wrong. All such guides actually hold a wealth of information and history, that can be easily teased from its pages. Especially were animals, and exhibits are concerned. For example, as mentioned with the ostriches at Windsor, simply by study of the maps, (which all exhibits generally have,) the omission from one year to the next, shows that the named animals may have been transferred to another zoo, or possibly died, and further research with guide-maps from different collections, may well show the arrival of the animals in question, maybe as a new exhibit? Guides are also a useful source of animal names, whereas individual animals are often mentioned, and therefore can be traced*, and with a wealth of photos and explanatory text, guides can be an invaluable tool, that can be used regarding Social History too, which can help reflect times and trends of both local places, and that of a country, or even reflect the animal trade worldwide. In short, each and every guidebook from any animal collection, is actually an ongoing history-book, that is updated year on year, and they are too often overlooked as an invaluable source for research.
*A word of caution here, as sometimes animal names, are, and have been, changed when moved, sometimes while replacing an animal that may have died, to disguise “that” fact from the general public, so two, or more animals, possibly could have the same name.
-oOo-
A thing of its time, and almost forgotten now, surprisingly, Royal Windsor Safari Park was once Britons top day-tripping venue. It could, and did, accommodate anything up to 2 million visitors each year. Assuming that only a quarter of those visiting families bought a guidebook, it would seem that there could have been a potentially staggering, half million copies sold of each edition. However, research has indicated that some guidebooks might only have been on sale for a few months, while others versions may have been sold for as long as three years, and all editions had varying print-runs, while others had re-prints, with or without editorial changes, therefore, there are many factors that can dictate a guidebooks actual rarity, these factors are noted with each guidebook description wherever possible.
-oOo-
A point to note here, is that the Smarts guides from 1971 through to 1974. All used a single-tone background, and when photographed, this background can/could often seem different in colour-tone. This change is mainly due to differing photographic techniques, lighting, and also the screen that a photo maybe, being viewed on.
Part of the printing process is to regularly check the colour tones throughout a print-run, and therefore, background colour variants are generally hardly noticeable. photos used to illustrate the single tone backgrounds, “may” therefore seem to be different variants, but as viewed from the authors collection, when held side by side, under the same light, there is hardly any, or no difference in colour at all. That does not mean however, that colour-tone misprints might not exist. Only, that if they do, as yet, (2024,) they have not been seen, noticed, or recorded. The differences lay mostly in the technology used, i.e., cameras, lighting, and screens viewed on. ©T. M. Bobrowicz.
-oOo-
The Smarts Guidebooks. 1969 - 1977.
On this first guide for the park, the cover carried the R/WSP “Crest,” (as opposed to the R/WSP Coat of Arms.) The crest consisted of a dolphin on a red, white, and blue crown, as featured on the cloth staff uniform badges that were used up until 1977, and they too are now extremely difficult to find. The words “Souvenir Guide Book,” are printed in yellow, which can be seen to the left of the dolphin.
Note: Any “Crested” R/WSP memorabilia that features this motif, denotes that it was produced early in the Parks life, and only by the Smarts between 1969-1977.
Note also: Billy Smart was the first person to coin the phrase “Safari Park,” in the UK.
-oOo-
This first Smarts guide has two variants, and was printed by Warminster Press Ltd, and measures 7 x 9 inches, (Small Post Quarto) while within, it has 7 double-sided full colour pages. Both variants of this year (1969,) are considered very rare in mint condition.
Also note: The Smarts actually opened R/WSP in the middle of the 69-summer season to catch the last of the seasonal trade, even though building was still going on, on-sit, and variant 1 was sold in the gift shop in that time. Then the “official” opening was held in March of 1970 by Princess Margaret, by which time the second print had been rushed through and was on sale in the gift-shops. This is why there is some confusion about the publication date of this issue.
Note: No Guide was printed for 1970, as both variants of this guide were only printed a few months earlier in 1969. However, many web-sites wrongly attribute either both, or sometimes the second variant to 1970.
Photo needed here… 1969. catalogue Number 1. Variant 1.
1969. Catalogue Number 1a. Variant 2.
-oOo-
With only poor quality black and white photo’s within, the bare minimum of text, along with its meager overall design, along with the use of low-grade paper, (Which is classified as, “Ephemeral” by collectors, meaning it was never produced to last any length of time, and would be fragile,) all of which marks this guide out as one of the least attractive of the guides produced for the park, which is probably why it was discontinued after a very short print-run. However, also because of its poor quality, and small print-run, it is “astonishing” that any of these particular “1969” Dolphinarium Guidebooks have survived for any length of time at all, which, without question, marks this guide out as one of the rarest of all the known Guidebooks produced for Windsor Safari Park.
This 1969 Dolphinarium edition was printed by, Raymond Thatcher (Graphic Arts) Ltd, Maidenhead, Berks. It measures 8 x 5 ½ inches in size, and only has six black and white poorly printed photos, some of which featured John Saddler, who was a renowned Marine Mammal Trainer of the 60’s/70’s, and one of R/WSP first dolphin trainers.
Note: That the famous killer whale, (Orca,) Ramu (III), who was Europe’s only killer whale, had not arrived at the park at this time. This Dolphinarium Guidebook, is considered extremely rare in any condition, and mint examples, if found, can command very high prices, even though there are few that collect R/WSP guidebooks worldwide.
-oOo-
There are in fact 4 variants of this guide, the standard edition which, on page 3 is signed-off by, “Ronald Smart” alone, and as the “Managing Director.” Whereas the second variation is signed-off as, “The Smart Brothers,” with no mention of the director. It would seem that Ronald must have overseen the design-work of the first variant, and the other two brothers did not agree to his sole status of director, as in this second variant there is also a line added in upper case at the bottom of the page, (most likely to enfercise it,) that reads “SOLE PROPRIETORS OF ROYAL WINDSOR SAFARI PARK. THE SMART BROTHERS.” In all other aspects the two variations are identical.
*Order of variants for the 1971 second Smarts edition/s.
No: 3. Signed “Ronald Smart.” No Front Cover Print Error.
No: 3a. Signed “Ronald Smart.” With Print Error.
No: 3b. Signed “The Smart Brothers,” No Print Error.
No: 3c. Signed “The Smart Brothers,” With Print Error.
-oOo-
Hardly ever seen for sale, it can be safely assumed, that this too is one of the rearrest of the Windsor Safari Park guidebooks, and so, is considered extremely rare in any condition.
-oOo-
