Keble S Enlarged Penny Guide To Margate Etc

The British led the way in holidaymaking. This four-volume primary resource collection brings together a diverse range of texts on the various forms of transport used by tourists, the destinations they visited, the role of entertainments and accommodation and how these affected the way that tourism evolved over two centuries. Volume 3: Seaside Holidays Over the course of the seventeenth century, medical writers and practitioners came to realise the health-giving properties of the seaside environment. By the early eighteenth century, this scientific interest was spreading to wealthy people in search of a rest cure. Bathing in the sea, drinking the waters and spending time in the bracing air became a widespread activity, and by the nineteenth century this had expanded thanks to extensive advertising and publicity about its beneficial effects. Specific forms of entertainment also developed, such as piers, aquaria, winter gardens and cinemas.

In Kent from the late-18th century many principle booksellers sold guides to the sights of their own towns and neighbourhoods. The printing and sale of such guidebooks, often illustrated with extra maps and engravings, were important elements in the work of provincial printers and booksellers, bringing a regular income from visitors. In larger places, such as Canterbury, there was strong competition between rival booksellers. Equally, these guides often carried advertisements for local businesses, which makes this category of publication an important source of information for researchers. However, because many publishers preferred not to print the date of publication for fear that their guide would quickly seem out of date, it has been difficult for bibliographers to provide definitive lists of what was published when, and by whom.