At a time when the magazine printing market is undergoing convulsions it is a timely look at the rise and demise of a firm that at one time printed the bulk of British weekly magazines.

The book charts the firm's rise from the establishment of the Anglo Engraving Company by Edward Hunter in 1898 as a photoengraving operation located in Farringdon, charting the mergers and acquisitions along the way until the closure of Polestar Watford in 2004.

Included in the history is the formation of Sun Printers, when the printing operations were sold to Hazell, Watson & Viney in 1945, the formation of the British Printing Company in 1964, Robert Maxwell’s acquisition of BPC in 1981, and his subsequent acquisition of Odhams and its merger with Sun.

The firm was a leader in quality and technology, including an early specialisation in colour using both letterpress and gravure printing, at one point being the largest gravure and letterpress operation in the world.

Iconic magazines produced included Picture Post and British Vogue. The book includes colour plates showing some of the work for which the firm was famous, including its own promotional materials.

The authors, Peter Greenhill and Brian Reynolds, both have personal links to the Sun story.

An edition of 600 books, printed by Polestar Wheatons, is available priced at £22 each via Shirley Greenman on 01923 227945 or email thesunshines@bellnet.ca.