Reprint of the 1938 St Vincent Handbook and Almanac to be launched

The St. Vincent Handbook and Almanac, 5th edition (originally published in 1938), has been reprinted by Gaymes Book Centre, in conjunction with Hobo Jungle Press (St. Vincent)

The “Handbook”, nearly 600 pages in length, was the culmination of decades of work by Vincentian Robert Anderson, a man of many talents, among them solicitor and publisher of The Vincentian newspaper.

The reprint of the “Handbook” will be  launched on Thursday, May 5, 2022 at the Methodist Church Hall beginning at 4:30 pm.

The Handbook has been out of print for years and occupies a special place in the homes of Vincentians who are lucky enough to own a copy of the original. With the republication of the book, a new generation can read first-person descriptions of events that shaped the island from the 1700s through the fourth decade of the 20th century.

After a brief descriptive “sketch” of the island, Anderson takes the reader on an historical “tour” of St. Vincent, beginning with the island’s “discovery” in 1498 and proceeding with a nearly unbroken yearly record of important events that took place in St. Vincent and the Grenadines through 1938. The book is replete with telegrams between the Colonial Administrators and the Royal Families before, during and after the World War I, as well as first person accounts of hurricanes, fires, volcanic eruptions, and other tragedies that befell the island. There are myriad accounts of visitors who gush over the beauty of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, its health benefits, and especially the friendliness of its people.

Finally, the book has a wealth of charts that list in detail fees for everything from taking a letter to a boat in the harbor to the rental for Youngs Island, taxi fares to every village, lists of all the birds found on St. Vincent, protected species of animals, and much more, as well as a compendium of all the prominent people who played a role in the government and business of the Colony.

Hobo Jungle Press has published nearly 60 books, many by Vincentian authors, including poetry, memoirs, biography, agriculture, history, and more. One of their most successful publications is An Historical Account of the Island of St. Vincent, written by Charles Shepherd in 1831, which is available in bookstores.

Dennis Gaymes is a book collector par excellence; he is determined to bring to the general public some of the long out-of-print histories about St. Vincent that he holds in his collection. To this end, the publication of the 1938 (final) edition of The St. Vincent Handbook and Almanac is the result of a collaboration between Gaymes and Hobo Jungle Press. If the launch is successful readers can expect more in the way of books about St. Vincent.

The book launch begins and 4:30 and after a short presentation, refreshments will be served. The event is open to the public and everyone who is interested in books is invited.