Shire Books
| Parent company | Osprey Publishing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1962 |
| Founder | John Rotheroe |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters location | Oxford |
| Publication types | Books |
| Official website | www.shirebooks.co.uk |
Shire Books are published by Shire Publications Ltd, a book publishing company based in Oxford, England. Shire offers low priced, concise non-fiction paperbacks on a wide range of subjects. Shire books cover antiques and collectables, motoring and rural history, archaeology and Egyptology, architecture, industrial history and many other topics.
Founded in 1962 by John Rotheroe, the company was for many years based in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire. The first book published by Shire was Discovering East Suffolk, a 24-page guide to the county through a series of five motoring routes and a gazetteer of the main towns and villages. It was given away to visitors via coach operators, local churches and tourist information points. The book was successful and when it was realized that many of the copies given away were being resold it was decided to sell the second edition, and this set the template for the future of Shire.[1]
In 2007 the company was acquired by Oxford-based military history publisher Osprey and now operates from their offices in Oxford.[1]
2008 onwards
During 2008 Shire began a revamp of its list. Several former Shire series (including Life Lines, Shire Garden History and History in Camera) have been absorbed into a new series called Shire Library, which retains and expands on the numbering system used by the old Album series, which forms the backbone of the Shire Library. Books in the Shire Library have a new series cover design, as do reissued books in the Archaeology and Egyptology series.[1]
Shire's list of forthcoming publications includes an increased number of new titles, as well as reissues of out-of-print titles, and new editions of existing titles.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "About Shire". Shire Publications.