Maia reviewed Shell nature studies by Geoffrey Grigson
Shell Nature Studies
Found a tattered old copy of this book in a charity shop. It is one of the several nature guides written by Shell oil company to brand themselves as "the key to the countryside" in the 1920s to 1950s. It was part of a marketing campaign to brand the countryside as an idyllic, rural wilderness which could only be explored with the help of a motor engine... fuelled by Shell petrol. A fascinating example of the ways in which Shell (and many others), have had such a massive impact on the way we see the countryside as well as the role of the motor engine in providing us with access. It feels so ironic that they used the very beauty of the environment to sell oil and encourage car use, destroying so much of this beauty in the process. It shows that these types of marketing campaigns are not a …
Found a tattered old copy of this book in a charity shop. It is one of the several nature guides written by Shell oil company to brand themselves as "the key to the countryside" in the 1920s to 1950s. It was part of a marketing campaign to brand the countryside as an idyllic, rural wilderness which could only be explored with the help of a motor engine... fuelled by Shell petrol. A fascinating example of the ways in which Shell (and many others), have had such a massive impact on the way we see the countryside as well as the role of the motor engine in providing us with access. It feels so ironic that they used the very beauty of the environment to sell oil and encourage car use, destroying so much of this beauty in the process. It shows that these types of marketing campaigns are not a new phenomenon, but go back a hundred years at least.