“Civilisation” has another triumph

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32553, 12 March 1971, Page 4

“Civilisation” has another triumph

Another success for the 8.8. C. colour series “Civilisation”: the American edition of the book version is . again in the “New York i Times” list of the 10 best- ' selling general books. This ' follows the screening of the 13-part series in museums 1 and art institutes across the United States and over 1 nearly 200 educational tele- ’ vision stations. The purchase 1 of the programmes was; financed by the Xerox Com- 1 pany, which gave National 1 Education Television a lar- 1 ger grant than they had pre- ’ i i 1

viously used for any one series. "Civilisation” has also been sold by the 8.8. C. for screening in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan and Spain. In the programmes the art historian Sir Kenneth Clark ranges over the development of Western civilisation from the fall of the Roman Empire to modem times. For the screen material he travelled 80,000 miles in 11 countries, filming paintings, sculpture, churches and palaces. When first shown on 8.8. C. 2 the series created a great impact in Britain, and Sir Kenneth received the Royal Television Society’s silver medal “for outstanding achievement in front of the camera.” When shown at Washington’s National Gallery. 600 people were expected for the first screening, and 24,000 arrived.

Th British edition of the book is published by the 8.8. C. in association with John Murray. It carries some 240 illustrations and costs four guineas. The American edition is published in the United States by Harper and Row under licence from 8.8. C. Publications.