Category: collectors edition mugs

Swallows and Amazons themed gifts

Over the years, I have been suggesting a variety of useful, literary gifts. I brought out this mug featuring a map of the Swallows and Amazons locations on Consiton Water, featuring on the cover of ‘The Secrets of Filming Swallows and Amazons.’ It’s currently available online for about £9.14

Design and cartography by Sophie Neville

I’ve brought out maps in a range of colours.

Swallows and Amazons mugs
Mugs printed with maps used to illustrate Sophie’s books

These t-shirts might be useful for anyone liable to get lost.

I’m selling a variety of garments with my Swallows and Amazons map of Coniston Water on the Redbubble site where you can also find cushion covers.

along with throws, duvet covers and a variety of products from phone covers to laptop sleeves if you fiddle around with the site here

There is a whole selection of socks, which I have listed here

The Nancy Blackett Trust have wooly hats and some great clothing, embroidered with Arthur Ransome’s good little ship. They have an online shop where you can also find yachting caps here

Peter Willis is offering his book ‘A Good Little Ship’ about rescuing Nancy for £10 – a great present for fans of Arthur Ransome.

I love these Swallows and Amazons bookmarks available from sky.n.fern for £2.50. They stock an assortment of unique stationery, which you can see here

I found this spectacle chain decorated with swallows, appropriate for web-footed grandparents, available here

For someone without much space, you can find handmade dolls house miniatures of the ‘Swallows and Amazons’ books here Each tiny book has tunable blank pages 1:12th the original size. I’m not sure if they are paying royalties to the Arthur Ransome Estate but what a compliment to the author. I’d be thrilled if they made miniatures of my books.

There is ‘Swallows and Amazons’ confetti, for sale on this site. Each heart is about one inch in size and can be used for a table decorations.

This year, I bought packs of book-ish Christmas cards from the charity SchoolReaders. They have a variety here.

A subscription to a magazine such as Practical Boat Owner makes a present that comes every month.

Here is something for sailors, which could include a voucher to sail Swallow, the dinghy from the 1974 film of ‘Swallows and Amazons’, which you can find out about here.

Jago Silver has produced a selection of ‘Never Stop Exploring designs. He has a beautiful Ship’s Log sketch book here

Jago Silver sketch book

and other lovely things designed in Cornwall

One of Jago Silver’s designs

Jigsaw puzzles and digitally hand drawn reproductions of StudioCanal’s Vintage Classics film poster designed by Arnaldo Putzu for the original movie of ‘Swallows and Amazons'(1974) are available here

Or you could give a copy of the book on how the original film of Swallows and Amazons was made. Large paperbacks can be ordered from Amazon or direct from the publisher here or other stockists listed here.

'The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974)'

You can find ‘Swallows and Amazons’ mugs and other gifts here

A signed first edition paperback of ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’ sells for £251 in an auction in aid of BBC Children in Need, 2021

In November 2021, an anonymous donor bid £251 for a signed first edition of ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’. The money raised went directly to BBC Children in Need.

Books listed in the category Auto Biography/Biography

Nearly eight hundred newly published books had been donated to the Children in Read charity auction organised by Paddy Heron, which raised a total of £24,888.

‘Funnily Enough’ an illustrated diary by Sophie Neville

Rare copies of my first edition paperback of ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’ are often priced highly on Amazon, but when the bidding went above £75, I promised to include a signed first edition hardback of my memoir ‘Funnily Enough’, which includes a brief section on appearing in the film.

When the bidding went above £101, I promised to add my third illustrated memoir about Swallows and Amazons style adventures in Africa, written in letter form.

Ride the Wings of Morning by Sophie Neville
‘Ride the Wings of Morning’ by Sophie Neville

However, £251 is so very generous that I am off to my archive store to see if I can find a hand-painted map to include in the package.

Map showing the film locations around Windermere

I drew three different maps showing our film locations in the Lake District and reproduced them in different colour-ways, using one on the cover of my original ebook entitled ‘The Secrets of Filming Swallows and Amazons (1974)’, which is still available on Kindle and any of the ebook outlets.

You can see a selection of my other maps on my Instagram page here

I added these ones to mugs and other useful items available to order from Redbubble They make good presents.

Swallows and Amazons mugs
Mugs printed with maps used to illustrate Sophie’s books

Swallows & Amazons mugs

Have you seen this set of Swallows and Amazons mugs printed with hand-painted maps of locations featured in my book on ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974)’? Redbubble, the manufacturers often have discount coupons, which you should be able to find here.

Swallows and Amazons mugs
Mugs printed with maps used to illustrate Sophie’s books

The three different designs are now available in a ‘classic’ or ‘tall’ style, as a travel mug or a water bottle. The full collection is available here.

Swallows and Amazons map of Windermere

Map of Windermere water bottle available here

and travel mug available here.

Swallows and Amazons map of Derwentwater 

Map of Derwentwater water bottle available here

and travel mug available here.

Swallows and Amazons map of Coniston Water

Map of Coniston water water bottle is available here

and travel mugs are available here.

You can see these designs on women’s clothing and men’s clothing with other useful items that make good presents or stocking fillers such as coasters:

The cover image of ‘The Secrets of Filming Swallows and Amazons’ is now available on a mug and on other products.

ur,mug_lifestyle,square,1000x1000These high-quality goods are manufactured in Australia by RedBubble who take care of customs charges. If you are asked to pay customs, send them a picture of proof of payment of customs charges and they’ll sort it out.

Here’s a link to the help center – https://help.redbubble.com/hc/en-us.

The maps can be found in the paperback of ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974), available from libraries, bookshops and online here.

'The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974)'

25th May 1973 ~ When I first started drawing maps

Sophie Neville as Titty working on her chart

I did not know it at the time but Titty’s chart had a profound influence on my life.

Titty working on the chart - copyright StudioCanal

I loved drawing the map. I had prepared it earlier with Simon Holland, the Art Director, and always regret pressing too hard. If you look very carefully you can see that I had already written ‘Rio’ and rubbed it out, only to write Rio again when it came to the take.  I also wish that I had been taught the song Away to Rio before this scene as I would had said that line differently. Never mind.

swallows and amazons map tea towel

 The map on the end papers of Arthur Ransome’s book of Swallows and Amazons, originally drawn by Steven Spurrier, is an inspiration to millions. I’ve gazed and gazed at it.

When I grew up and went to university, I took a course in cartography that was to stand me in good stead.  In the spring of 1992, I migrated to Southern Africa with the swallows and soon started drawing decorative maps.

colour elephant map

I added small pictures of settlements, trees, animals, and always a compass with a black and white border to give the scale. In the process I was able to explore the most wonderful country. Most of my commissions have been of game reserves or great swathes of Africa.

Macatoo Camp in the Okavango Delta, Botswana
A map by Sophie Neville depicting the area around Macatoo Camp in the Okavango Delta in Botswana where you find wild parrots

I have mapped areas of the Okavango Delta in Botswana and the Waterberg Plateau in South Africa.

Map of Jembisa

I travelled miles to complete one of the Malilangwe Conservation Trust in Zimbabwe and a map showing how to cross the Namib Desert on a horse.

Reit Safaris Horse Trails Map

I’ve mapped Jembisa Game Reserve, Triple B Ranch  and Ongava on the Etosha border. I have also drawn maps of military zones, ski resorts and stately homes.

Map of Four Ashes Hall by Sophie Neville

Some have been for charities such as Save the Rhino Trust, others for books, others for marketing holidays.

Map of Chamonix

They all gave me the excuse to go on living a Swallows and Amazons life, camping in wild places and exploring wilderness areas – uncharted territory.

Horseback Safaris 2 Map

As I expect Titty would have done, I have been writing about these maps and the adventures I had in making them, putting everything together in an illustrated  travel book call Ride the Wings of Morning.

Ride the Wings of Morning by Sophie Neville

I have a couple of very early maps in my first book Funnily Enough. These were just sketched in my diary but one is of Windermere, where I went with my father and the Steam Boat Association, so should be of interest to Arthur Ransome enthusiasts.

A map of Windermere sketched in Sophie Neville’s Diary of 1991 published as the book ‘Funnily Enough’

I have since reproduced some of my own Swallows and Amazons maps on mugs, t-shirts and other items that make useful presents. You can find a selection here.

Swallows and Amazons mugs
Mugs printed with maps used to illustrate Sophie’s books

The mugs are good quality – you can order this one here

I used this map of the Swallows and Amazons locations on the front of the ebook on how we made the film, which has more within. It sells for about £2.99: