Record Number: 11373

---

Reading Experience:

Evidence:

'On incident stays clear in my mind. It was on one of the rare days, other than Christmas and New Year, when my grandmother and I went into the sitting room above the shop. The time was late afternoon, just before tea, and I was standing near the window, looking through one of the volumes of a garish and expensive "History of the World War" which my father had bought from a door-to-door salesman who had persuaded him that "it would be very useful for the little boy's education". Some illustration in the book -a photograph or drawing of a battleship or aeroplane or shell-burst or trench warfare - must have caught my fancy, and, as I noticed that John Slater was looking out from his window on the opposite side of the street, I held up my picture against the glass so that he might see it. The street was narrow enough for anyone with good eyesight even to read the caption if it were printed in large enough letters. John nodded and promptly held up a picture in a book he was reading. I turned over a page or two and then held up another picture. John responded. And soon we found ourselves caught up in a competition...'

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

Between 1 Jan 1921 and 31 Dec 1929

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Millom
specific address: St George's Terrace
location in dwelling: sitting room, above the shop, by the window

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

---

Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Norman Nicholson

Age:

Child (0-17)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

8 Jan 1914

Socio-Economic Group:

Clerk / tradesman / artisan / smallholder

Occupation:

son of tailor

Religion:

n/a

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

---

Text Being Read:

Author:

[unknown]

Title:

History of the World War

Genre:

History

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

illustrated, several volumes

Provenance

owned

---

Source Information:

Record ID:

11373

Source:

Print

Author:

Norman Nicholson

Editor:

n/a

Title:

Wednesday Early Closing

Place of Publication:

London

Date of Publication:

1975

Vol:

n/a

Page:

35-36

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Norman Nicholson, Wednesday Early Closing, (London, 1975), p. 35-36, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=11373, accessed: 20 March 2025

---

Additional Comments:

None