A Fifth Lakeland Sketchbook

In August 1973, Wainwright’s fifth instalment, A Fifth Lakeland Sketchbook, was published, marking the culmination of his ongoing sketchbook series centred around the Lake District. Once again, Henry Roberts took the lead as the first bookshop to promote the release of this new sketchbook, featuring prominently in the pages of Cumbria magazine.

The Outlying Fells of Lakeland was nearing completion, and it was planned for publication in the upcoming year. With this project nearing its end, Wainwright looked forward to dedicating his time to creating additional sketchbooks. Notably, he had already commenced work on the first volume of a Scottish Mountain Drawings series.

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A First Edition is identified by:

Grey cloth case with gold blocking
£1.05 price on the dust jacket
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland and Scottish Mountain Drawings listed as – In preparation

***In preparation* helps identify a *First Edition***

A Fifth Lakeland Sketchbook First Edition without the Dust Jacket — A grey clothbound case on its own does not necessarily identify a *First Edition*

Starting in 1975, all of Wainwright’s books maintained uniformity in case material and colour, with occasional exceptions. Even the initial volume of the Scottish Mountain Drawings series adhered to the same grey case. This standardisation, however, was not solely a design choice; instead, it stemmed from material shortages experienced by the case manufacturer.

A Fifth Lakeland Sketchbook First Edition £1.05 — *First Edition* price

A Fifth Lakeland Sketchbook First Edition Signed — A Signed *First Edition*

A Fifth Lakeland Sketchbook Original Drawing — ****The Serpentine Walks drawing also features in** *Westmorland Heritage* and *Kendal in the Nineteenth Century***

A Fifth Lakeland Sketchbook First Edition Gold Blocking — **The original gold blocking (image mirrored)**

A Fifth Lakeland Sketchbook Dust Jacket Black — **Dust jacket negative black**

A Fifth Lakeland Sketchbook First Edition Later Prints — **An early 1980s print and Frances Lincoln’s 2004 publication**

In 1985, Wainwright dedicated his efforts to creating additional drawings for A Sixth Lakeland Sketchbook and submitted them to the Westmorland Gazette. Regrettably, by this time, his eyesight had declined significantly, and his artwork lost fine detail. After careful consideration, Andrew Nichol decided to forgo the publication of the sketchbook due to Wainwright’s diminished vision.

During their routine meetings at Wainwright’s residence in Kendal Green, Andrew Nichol explained the decision not to publish A Sixth Lakeland Sketchbook. Although undoubtedly a difficult task for Andrew, the choice was made to preserve Wainwright’s well-established reputation, which he had built over the years before the onset of his visual impairment.

Almost four decades later, none of the unreleased drawings from A Sixth Lakeland Sketchbook have come to light. There is speculation that Wainwright chose to destroy them, akin to his actions in 1953 when he disposed of the initial hundred pages of The Eastern Fells.