Our newest book marks 50 years since May '68 and presents posters from the British collective Poster Workshop. Their work, made in Camden from 1968 onwards, give a unique perspective on the key political issues in 1960s and 1970s Britain - many of which still resonate today.
Poster Workshop 1968-1971
Launching our Irregulars series: from the hiss and crackle of Britain’s CB radio heyday, comes Eyeball Cards. These alternate identities of ‘breakers’ are sometimes amusing, occasionally mundane, dark or bawdy, but always personal creations: social media identities from a time before the internet.
Eyeball CardsFor the second book in the Irregulars series, David Clarke has selected material from the Ministry of Defence’s UFO Desk, now held at The National Archives, to present the remarkable stories behind these images, including alien craft on the A1, flying saucers over Hampstead, and a spaceship landing at a primary school.
UFO Drawings From The National ArchivesWe asked William Hogan and David Titlow about their experience of Citizens Band Radio Culture of the 1980s, and more specifically the Eyeball Cards: the business cards of ‘breakers’ exchanged when meeting up in person after chatting on the airwaves.
A CB Radio Q&AFor the Irregulars series, David Clarke has selected images - drawings, paintings and photographs - sent in to the Ministry of Defence's UFO Desk and now held at The National Archives. We asked him how he got interested in UFOs and what they might mean.
Questions & Answers: UFO DrawingsDavid Clarke, author of UFO Drawings From The National Archives, explores the history of UFO sightings by schoolchildren.
Close Encounters of the Playground KindWe’re proud to introduce our newest project, one that we’ve been beavering away at for over a year now: Four Corners Irregulars, a series of books presenting a new look at the history of modern British visual culture.
We have chosen a wide range of different subjects, ranging from politics to hobbies, and stretching from 1945 to the present day. All are linked by the remarkable visual creativity in Britain beyond art galleries and museums. Some of the work we feature is by artists working outside of the gallery context and some was made by people who didn’t consider themselves artists at all.
The first volume is by William Hogan and David Titlow, about Eyeball Cards, the mysterious business cards created by CB radio enthusiasts in the late 1970s and early 1980s. ‘Breakers’ would chat over the airwaves at a time when the technology was yet to be legalised and would create handles for themselves to help keep their identity a secret. The result is a window into an outpouring of creativity that prefigures online identities – social media personas from before the internet.
Read about Irregular #1, Eyeball CardsWe make art books that have a story to tell. Whether it’s our Familiars series – in which we invite artists to reimagine classic works of literature – or our new series, the Irregulars about fascinating pockets of British visual culture, we try to find art in the most intriguing and unusual places, and publish it as beautifully as we can.
Run by Elinor Jansz and Richard Embray, we’ve been publishing since 2003. We’re always keen to hear from you – whether you’re a reader, bookseller, historian, or artist, or have an idea you think we’d be interested in.
Four Corners Books
56 Artillery Lane
London E1 7LS
hello@fourcornersbooks.co.uk
+44 (0)20 7247 8948
Four Corners Books, registered charity 1125471. Registered company 6591195. Company limited by guarantee, registered in England.
Design by John Morgan studio
Programming by Benedict de Silva
Pictures by Four Corners Books
