Four year member card

I received my Four year members badge attached to one of these, but it was so badly crumpled and torn by the badge that it eventually disintegrated. This is a nicely reconstructed one. Like the founders card, it's about A6 in size. The badge, as regular visitors to the site will know, is black! And yes, I still proudly wear mine....pinned to my battered bush hat.

I love the treatment of the '4'! It's something that Jill seemed to do without any effort.

I don't know if the new club intends on doing the same thing. From what I've seen, it looks like the new badge changes colour each year. 

Founding Fathers (and Mothers) will remember this...

Founders card with badge attached

Here's the Founder card, purchased at great expense! Most of these were crumpled up, lost or just thrown away!

As regular visitors to the blog will know, I was pipped to the post by the author of 'Puffin by Design' for one of these a while ago, and it took a fair bit of searching, waiting, and just plain luck to get hold of this. 

This one needed a fair bit of restoring to its current minty fresh look.

It's a great example of Jill's lovely calligraphy and a great way to see both styles of her graphic design work.

Surprise News from the Royal Academy of Music...

A real opportunity for puffinophiles has cropped up! The Royal Academy of Music has put Yehudi Menuhin's puffin badges on display for object of the month - they were chosen as the April (fools) object(s) of the month. This is the only opportunity that you will have to see the Presidents special 'Gold' badge.

It looks a deep orange/red version of the founders badge. As I mentioned in a previous posting, this was given by Kaye Webb to Menuhin on his acceptance of the role of President of the Puffin Club after the death of the previous President, Sir Allen Lane.

I would like to thank the Royal Academy of Music for contacting me regarding these rare items - it has given me the excuse to express my admiration for an extraordinary man whose world view was so enlightened. I will be posting a more expansive post on Menuhin and his involvement with the club shortly.

A new service!!

I have had several requests to buy items from my collection since I started this blog, and whilst it is tempting during these hard times, it has been hard searched for and acquired.

So I intend listing links to items for sale that I think are worth bidding for, or buying from a dealer.

The first listings are:

Puffin Post Volume 5 Nos 1, 2 , 3 ,4 plus folder - eBay
Looks in good condition. I have noticed that there have been more Vol.5 bundles over the past 18 months than any other, so the bidding for this shouldn't be too bad.
Well that was a waste of time! No one bid!

Puffin Post Volume 4 Nos 1, 2 , 3 ,4 plus folder - eBay
Again, pretty good. The filled in crosswords etc. shouldn't put you off. These are getting more scarce. Still shouldn't get above £10 - 12.
And it didn't - No one bid again! - You can't say I didn't try!!

A set of Volume 3 went for £12.06 a month or so ago, which is about on a par with book dealer prices.

PUFFIN Book Metal Pin Badge - eBay
One of the genuine enamel badges - not bad by the look of the photo, but it does appear to have firing flaws down the left side (quite common). These badges can get up to £15! I just depends who you are up against!
What a bargain!! The winning bidder got it for £4.45! Well done that eBayer!

Hope this helps some of you out.

Badges again..

Isn't he super! I've still got a a pile of these to post - hope you enjoy them.
And here is the 80's answer.

Badges, Badges, Badges

I've promised these for a while, so here they are! I found myself sitting next to Kaye Webb at one of the Commonwealth Institute Puffin Exhibitions and was stunned to see her sporting not just one, but three badges! I asked her how I could get them and where they were from.

She told me that the Gold Badge (no.4) was for founder members or those who had done something particularly special.

The Green Badge (no.3) was the members badge in Australia (though Kaye was wearing her Founders Green Badge that looked a bit like her Gold Badge.

The remaining badges are the standard White Badge (no.1) that I have found in different versions - The earlier badges were genuine enamel made by the Davis Badge company of London. Later versions were made with a plastic insert instead of enamel. (You will see a lot of these on ebay).

The last badge is the Black Badge (no.2) that was earned for being a member for four years - these were only ever made in enamel and the quality varied from well finished and ground to rough and distinctly ropey.

The members badge was of course the Puffin Logo designed by Jill McDonald when Kaye Webb became editor of Puffin Books in 1961.

Other classic button badges were made for the various events. I collected a pile of these and some survived better than others. Watch for these in future posts.

As a small addition - I have since learned that there was one solitary badge of gold that was made for club President, Yehudi Menuhin. This was a special gift from Kaye Webb. I assume it is still with the Menuhin family.

More soon... promise!

I hope this first taste of the past has whetted your appetite for more.
I will endeavor to post something of interest once a week - look out for the forthcoming set of badges with a key to what they are.

"Badges? You know I'm a fool for badges!"
The Goodies - 'Scoutrageous' episode