A spokesman for the North Mymms Local History Society said he was amazed at how quickly they had gone.

Len Palmer says he sold 500 on the doorstep and received dozens of phone calls. "It has been non-stop ever since we launched the book", he said.

The latest work by the NMLHS entitled "North Mymms Pictures From the Past" includes images dating back more than 130 years.

The photographic study of life in the parish has taken two years to compile and has involved digging deep into the society’s archives, going through family photo albums and shoe boxes full of old snaps and postcards.

The 62-page book includes almost 120 previously unpublished photographs grouped in several chapters looking at transport, Brookmans Park, Welham Green, the parish’s pubs, landmarks, farming and people.

Click here for the index page of the book.

The book was sold for just £2 part of the cost of producing the 1,000 copies came from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the North Mymms Parish Council.

The North Mymms Local History Society also agreed that, as with all the society’s other publications, the book should be made available online for the benefit of all.

So far three chapters have been reproduced on this site and another will appear before the weekend.

Details of where to get hold of the book have also been carried on this website and, as a result, e-mails have been received from as far away as North America and Australia.

It is unlikely the book will be reprinted, although a final decision has not been made. Those lucky enough to have bought one before they ran out could have a collector’s piece on their hands.

December 2, 2002