Official handbooks for a town were once a regular feature of many districts throughout the country. Commissioned by the local council they would be packed with useful information about that particular place for local residents and visitors.
 
Contents would usually include:-

• a potted history of the town and how its local industries and services developed
• useful local telephone numbers and addresses
• market days
• early closing days
• photographs (not always very up-to-date ones though!)
• a street map

and, of course, adverts for local businesses.
 
These handbooks now provide a fascinating resource for the local historian. Here are a selection of the adverts that appeared in this 1963 edition:-