Durham Collieries on old picture postcards by George Nairn (Reflections of a Bygone Age, £4.95)

RENOWNED postcard collector and dealer George Nairn, of Chester-le-Street, has compiled some extremely rare postcards of County Durham's collieries in a new book.

It contains 70 illustrations and as well as photographs of the mines and miners themselves, there are glimpses of the wider life of the communities: of strikes, disasters, bands and festivals.

Most of the images date from the heyday of the postcard in the Edwardian era in the run up to the First World War.

The Northern Echo: GREAT COLLECTION: Durham Collieries by George Nairn

This really is a captivating collection, which is available from local bookshops and newsagents, or direct from the publishers' website postcardcollecting.co.uk or via email reflections@postcardcollecting.co.uk or by calling 0115-937-4079. Postage will be £1.20.