THE STORY OF THE KINGS: C.J. King & Sons 1850 to the present day.

UK.BRISTOL.WHITE TREE BOOKS/REDCLIFFE PRESS LTD., 1988.UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[ISBN internally incorrect (?) as 0949265221.] FINE+/FINE.No owner inscrptn,no price-clip to dw/dj. Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,colour pictorial vignetted upper panel of dw/dj with red,blue and black lettering ; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present - virtually as new.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - near pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - possibly unread - apart from my own collation.Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered, publisher's original, dark blue cloth boards with bright,crisp, stamped gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,4-120pp [paginated] includes b/w river scenic illustrated frntis (from a painting by T. Rowbotham),an author introduction,5 sections comprising 4,5,4,3 chapters and a list of Company's riverTugs (from 1859 to 1980) respectively,profuse contemporary b/w photographs throughout the text and the book,and an index.Plus [unpaginated] title page, and a contents list/table with acknowledgements. In the 1840's,Christopher King left his birthplace in the village of Chiseldon,Wiltshire to seek work in Bristol.By 1850,at the age of twenty-three,he was a master stevedore,laying the foundations of the family business which was to dominate the stevedoring and tug-owning scene in Bristol city docks for the next century and which,by adapting and diversifying into other fields,still flourishes today (then 1988). The author traces the development of the business,through triumphs and vicissitudes as trade shifted from the historic city docks to Avonmouth and,later,Portbury in the new age of the containership.All this is set against a background of change: of sail giving way to steam and then to diesel,of two world wars,recessions,competition and new technology.The story is embellished with historic events dear to Bristolian hearts,such as the royal opening of the Royal Edward Dock,the arrival of the first banana boats,and the emotional return of s.s. Great Britain,in all of which C.J. King played their own vital role.Throughout,the author puts the story in its human context: the enterprise of the King and Stevenson families,and of the men who worked with them,often through several generations.For many readers,this book will revive fond memories of the city docks as they were a generation ago, and of the 'characters' who worked there.For others,it will be an insight into aspects of Bristol life which have now gone forever. Since April 2013,again in March 2015,and in this year too,the UK Post Office has altered it's Pricing in Proportion template,altering its prices,weight allowances,dimensions and lowered its qualifying compensation rates too! So,please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the lighter weight of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! .