Issued by Harrods
To teach golf
Flip book.

This is a rare Flickr book published by the luxury department store Harrods.
Flip books were created in England about 100 years ago, in the early days of sports, department stores, and movies, as educational materials that moved in the palm of your hand.

The book is about the then British amateur golf champion, Cyril Torrey (C.J.H.Tolley) demonstrates how to swing a driver and an iron, just as if you were watching a video tutorial.

This was an idea in an era when there were no free online videos like today, no DVDs or VHS tapes, and it was difficult to copy footage and share it with others.

It is a few-second sequence of Cyril Torrey himself, wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and tie, probably because that was the custom at the time, swinging a driver and an iron. Dozens of photos taken at a fixed point are printed stop-motion, and because it is double-sided, you can enjoy either the driver or the iron depending on which way you flip through the pages.

The company that produced this book is a London company called "Flicker Productions". In the 1920s, they started making Flickerbooks under the slogan "FLICKERS Teach the Game". Their aim was clear. They thought that if they could freely play back every move of top players representing each field in frame-by-frame, it would be something that all sports enthusiasts would want, regardless of nationality. So, they got Harrods involved and made it into a publishing business, so even though it's small in size, it's a big-scale book.

The series began with cricket, then tennis, then golf (this is the 12th Flickerbook), and continues with other popular British sports of the time, including lacrosse, football, swimming, hockey, billiards and greyhound racing.

Looking at the lineup, we can see that they are all sports where "form" is important. If you can move your body in the same way as top-of-the-line professionals, you will definitely improve. Moreover, the planning ability to focus only on "ideal form" makes sense.

It is a pleasant coincidence that the man behind this series was a major figure in the British film industry. The cameraman behind the Flickerbook series was Scottish businessman Norman Loudon. He experimented with high-speed photography, which was rare at the time, and made Flickerbook a reality. Then, whether it was because the book series was such a big hit or not, he bought a vast plot of land from an aristocrat in Shepperton, Surrey, in 1931, and established a film studio called Shepperton Studios. Many of the most famous films of the 20th century, from "A Clockwork Orange" to "Alien", would later be shot here.

It's a small stapled book, and it was a "used book," so it's rare to find one in good condition. Still, it's an interesting book as a rare book that made a big splash in early 20th century Britain.


※※List of titles in the "Flickers teach the game" series

Cricket
By Don Bradman
No.1 Drives
No.2 Cuts
No.3 Pull

└By C.VGrimmett
No.4 Leg Break
No.5 Googley
No.6 Overspin

Tennis
By Miss Betty Nuthall
No.7 Drives
No.8 Service and Volley

By H.WAustin
No.9 Drives
No.10 Service and Smash

Golf
By Bobby Jones
No.11a Drive and Mashie
No.11b Brassie and Iron
No.11c Out the Rough and Putt

By C.J.H. Tolley
No.12 Drive and Iron Shots

Football
By Gallacher and Cheyne
No.14 Goal and Header

Swimming
By AMERICAN GIRL CHAMPIONS
No.15 High Dives

Hockey
By Miss K. Doman
No.16 Fielding, etc.

Greyhound Racing
No.20 Hurdling

Badminton
By Mr. J.F.Devlin
No.21 Smash and Drop Shot

Skating
By Miss Sonja Henie
No.22 Spreadeagle Jump
No.23 One Foot Spin
No.24 Spin and Jump

Shooting
Mr. R. Churchill
No.25 Shooting

JUNIOR SERIES
No.31 Monkeys
No.32 Pelicans
No.33 Polar Bears
No.34 Eagles
No.35 Flip the Frog
No.36 Mickey Mouse - Cheese-Trap
No.37 Mickey Mouse - Cat-Catcher
No.38 Greyhounds


Text by Osamu Kushida