WWII POW Camp Survivor – Stalag VIII-B (Lamsdorf) Camp-Stamped Copy of How a Tree Grows

Somerville, William – How a Tree Grows

Oxford: Oxford University Press (Humphrey Milford), 1927. 8vo. 212[1]pp. Illustrated with 112 figures and diagrams throughout. Original publisher's dark green cloth, gilt-lettered spine. Very Good condition; light wear to extremities, a few scattered spots of foxing, binding sound. Ownership signature of Donald W. Bridges.

An accessible introduction to tree physiology and growth by William Somerville. Richly illustrated with diagrams and scientific drawings, the work explains the structure, development, and life processes of trees for students, foresters, and naturalists.

Of particular historical interest is the wartime provenance. The front free endpaper bears the censorship stamp "Stalag VIII B. Geprüft. Nr. 28" ("Stalag VIII-B. Examined. No. 28"), documenting the volume's passage through the censorship and library system of Stalag VIII-B, Lamsdorf (now Lambinowice, Poland), one of the largest German prisoner-of-war camps of the Second World War. The same stamp also appears faintly on the upper cover.