'The Batsford Book of Light Verse for Children' was published in 1978. It was compiled by poet Gavin Ewart and features illustrations by author and illustrator Nicolas Bentley.

0 2

We have unearthed some old careers guides that we'll be sharing with you this week. 'Hairdressing and Beauty as a Career' by Evelyn Forbes was published in 1961.

0 0

'Chinese Animal Painting Made Easy' is a practical guide to Chinese brush painting with demonstrations for painting various animals including tigers, pandas, cats and birds. Written by painting tutor Rebecca Yue and published in 2009.

0 0

Next up in our animal-themed week is 'Mammals of the Seas' by Richard Mark Martin. This illustrated reference guide to seals, whales and other sea mammals was published in 1977.

0 1

Our final map book is 'Maps for Local History' by historical geographer Paul Hindle. Published in 1988, the book explains how to use maps for local history research.

0 1

Today's archive treasure is from '#Maps That Changed the World' by John O.E. Clark, published in 2016. Pictured here is 'Amerique Septentrionale' (1650) by Nicolas Sanson d’Abbeville. Check out on Instagram later today for a bonus map! Image: Corbis.

0 2

As the season begins, we thought we'd do a marine theme for this week's archive images. Here is 'Sailing & Cruising: For the small boat owner' by K. Adlard Coles (1901–1985), in 1941. Cover illustration by

0 2

As the capital is gearing up for we've been digging out some old books from the archive. Here is 'Gallery of Fashion 1790–1822', a book in the Batsford Colour Books series published in 1950.

0 2