"THE AMALGAMATED PRESS presents WONDERS OF WORLD ENGINEERING to be completed in about 50 weekly parts." There's a site devoted to WofWE here. In actual fact this fine publication ran for a full year of 53 parts, with the first issue (shown) going on sale dated March 2, 1937. WofWE was edited by Clarence Winchester, who had already helmed RAILWAY WONDERS OF THE WORLD and SHIPPING WONDERS OF THE WORLD. He would follow WofWE with WONDERS OF WORLD AVIATION. Thanks to Steve Holland for his contribution on Clarence Winchester's life and publications. Page updated 3rd July, 2010.

Like all weekly collections published by AP, bound volumes would be made available once past the midway point in the run. Purchasers could also order 'special binding cases' in which to have their weekly issues bound. In common with CHUMS, THE BOY'S OWN and THE GIRL'S OWN, the outer pages would be discarded. In the case of WofWE, this only involved the cover. The front endpaper included an editorial and contents list, the rear endpaper details of the following issue. The back cover usually carried an ad for the binding cases. In the case of WofWE, the [2] binding covers came in light green cloth with gilt embossed decorated boards.

Issue #1, illustrated above, ran to 36 pages plus covers and cost 7d. The five articles within were as follows:
San Francisco's Great Bridges [ Linking the World's Highways - 1] by Harold J. Shepstone.
Empire Flying Boats by Grenville G.O. Manton.
Harnessing Niagara [Wonders of Water Power - 1] by F.E. Dean.
Giant of the Ether by L.H. Thomas
The Oil Route from the East, no credit, possibly penned by the consulting editor, Thomas Walley.

The subject of 'Giant of the Ether' may not be evident to modern eyes. It referred to the twelve towering masts located at Rugby, England, which were the main means of shipping communication at the time of publication.

The highlight of this particular issue was a fold-out of an Empire flying boat. This was a 'cutaway' in full-colour in the style of MODERN WONDERS and, much later, the better-known EAGLE. In addition to the many B/W spot photos was the centre 'photogravure' section, beautifully reproduced full-page photos equal to anything published half a century later.

The editor's words as to how WofWE came into being are worth quoting here.
" ...I have realised what engineering means to the world of today, how it affects the lives of each one of us, and why it is so significant in the affairs of man. But all my thoughts on the subject became suddenly crystallised a while ago when I happened to be in San Francisco and saw the wonderful new bridges there being built ... ......I feel certain that expert and layman alike will one day welcome a comprehensive survey and explanation of such achievements."

And from the editor's foreword:
"All material progress would be impossible but for the imaginative genius and practical skill of the engineer."

CLARENCE (Arthur Charles) WINCHESTER 1895-1981
by Steve Holland

Born in Notting Hill Gate, London, on March 17, 1895, Winchester learned to fly in 1913 and wrote on aeronautics for the Daily Mail. He was a founder member of the original Institute of Aeronautical Engineers and an associate of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He was the Assistant Chief Editor of Cassells, 1925-27, and then Chief Editor at the Amalgamated Press which included the partworks Railway Wonders of the World in 50 parts (1935-36), Shipping Wonders of the World in 55 parts (1936-37), Wonders of World Engineering in 52 parts (1937-38) and Wonders of World Aviation (1938). During this time he was also editorially involved in many magazines, including The Corner Magazine, 1925-35, Cassell’s Magazine of Fiction, 1925-32, The Argosy, 1926-40, The New Magazine, 1927-30, The Story-Teller, 1928-37, The Red Magazine, 1936-39.

He later became Literary Editor of the Daily Sketch and contributed to many American newspapers and magazines, being the correspondent on European affairs to the Argonaut of San Francisco. He also set up his own publishing house shortly after the war, and was also advisory editorial director of Crosby, Lockwood & Son, Ltd.He used the pen-name ‘Ornis’ for articles on flying was occasionally also used the pseudonym C. Tanner-Rutherford.

Contributed to: Boys Magazine; Chums.

Novels
The Devil Rides High. London, Cassell & Co., 1933.
Three Men in a Plane. London, Collins, 1941.
City of Lies. London, Collins, 1942.
Hop, Mop and Drop, the Mischievous Mice, illus. Fred Robinson. London, R. Lesley & Co., 1944.

Non-fiction
Flying Men and Their Machines. A literary and photographic record of facts concerning flying. London, J. M. Dent & Sons, 1916.
Complete Aeronautics, edited by Winchester. London, Standard Art Book Co., 1921.
Aerial Photography. A comprehensive survey of its practice & development, with F. L. Wills; foreword by Sir Alan J. Cobham. London, Chapman & Hall, 1928.
The Wonder Album of Filmland, edited by Winchester. London, Amalgamated Press, 1933.
The World Film Encyclopedia. A universal screen guide, edited by Winchester. London, Amalgamated Press, 1933; New York, Gordon Press, 1976.
An Innocent in Hollywood, illus. Goetz. London, Cassell & Co., 1934.
Let’s Look at London. A travelogue for the short time visitor. London, Cassell & Co., 1935.
Railway Wonders of the World, edited by Winchester; consulting editor Cecil J. Allen. London, Amalgamated Press, 2 vols., 1935-36.
Shipping Wonders of the World, edited by Winchester; consulting editors A. C. Hardy & Frank C. Bowen. London, Amalgamated Press, 2 vols., 1936-37.
The King’s Navy, edited by Winchester; associate editors Vice-Admiral Gordon Campbnell & Frank C. Bowen. London, Amalgamated Press, 1936.
The King’s Air Force, edited by Winchester. London, Amalgamated Press, 1937.
The King’s Army, edited by Winchester. London, Amalgamated Press, 1937.
The Wonders of World Engineering, edited by Winchester; consulting editor Thomas Walley. London, Amalgamated Press, 2 vols., 1937-38.
Wonders of World Aviation, edited by Winchester; consulting editor J. Laurence Pritchard. London, Amalgamated Press, 2 vols., 1938.
The Story of the British Empire. Told with pen and picture, edited by Winchester. London, Amalgamated Press, 1939-
Airman Tomorrow, with Alfred E. Kerr. London & Southend, H. F. Lucas & Co., 1942; revised, London, C. Lockwood & Son, 1943.
The Queen Elizabeth. The world’s greatest ship, edited with P. R. Bird. London, Winchester Publications, 1947.

Collections
The Captain Lost His Bathroom. Short stories. London, John Crowther, 1941.
The Black Poppy, and other stories. London, Arandar Books, 1944.

Verse
Poems of an Air Pilot. London, Wingwood Publishing Co., 1921.
Sonnets, and some others. Tauton, Wessex Press, 1928.
Earthquake in Los Angeles, and other poems. London, Cassell & Co., 1938.
A Great Rushing of Wings, and other poems. Bognor Regis, J. Crowther, 1944.
Signatures of God. Selected poems of truth, beauty and love. Evesham, James, 1977.

Others
Winchester’s Screen Encyclopedia, edited by Maud M. Miller. London, Winchester, 1948.
The Royal Philatelic Collection, by Sir John Wilson, edited by Clarence Winchester. London, The Dropmore Press, 1952.
The Crown Jewels and other Regalia in the Tower of London, by Hervey D. W. Sitwell; edited by Winchester. London, Dropmore Press, 1953.

AVAILABILITY and INTEREST
WONDERS OF WORLD ENGINEERING can, no doubt, be found in many long-established universities and public libraries around the world. I picked up my first set from Dymock's secondhand book department (Sydney, NSW) in the 1960s. It was in fact the first secondhand printed item I ever purchased. Some earlier owner had lovingly hand-bound most issues 3 to the slim volume, including covers. The thick cardboard he had used made these extremely heavy and I was forced to buy these over three days, hoping that nobody came along and took the rest. At the time they cost me 2/6 [25c] a volume. Quite a bargain, I thought at that time. In the past 40 years I've found another complete set in single issues, and volume 1 in publisher's covers. Whatever happened to the second volume, I wonder? I would expect a 2-volume set in publisher's covers to bring between Au$100-$250 in very good condition.

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