How to sing round the campfire (and other weekend tips)

From 1924, regular editions of this whimsical miscellany of practical advice combined with poetry could be found on bedside tables in country cottages and the chilly bathrooms of the great estates.

Now 50 years after the book from Nonesuch Press ceased publication, a new collection of its choicer gems has been compiled for the modern, unhyphenated weekender. It arrives in bookshops next month.

The puiblisher Duckworth, which has just bought the defunct Nonesuch Press to save its treasured archive of beautifully produced volumes, is hoping it will be an autumn bestseller to rival the surprise success of Schott's Original Miscellany a couple of years ago or the 1970s hit, The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady.

Peter Mayer, Duckworth's owner, discovered the book at the home of Joan Reinhardt, co-founder with her late husband Max of Nonesuch Press. She had contacted Mr Mayer to ask him if he could save the Nonesuch archive which includes classic editions such as the Nonesuch Dickens.

Peter Mayer said: "This is the 50th anniversary of [the demise of] The Week-End Book and this pulls in a selection of all the 34 editions. It has lots of charm. People in Britain still love the idea of a cottage which you either own or where you get invited to stay. This book is what you want to read a few pages of before you go to stay there. It's got history and nostalgia and it's terrifically English."

There are also plans for a new Week-End Book next year with original material, capitalising on the current trend for city dwellers to make the most of weekends away. "This is just the beginning of the renaissance," Mr Mayer said.

Caroline McArthur, who made the selection for the new 340-page volume, admitted some politically incorrect songs and terms had not been included in the modern version. And although some of the advice might sound quaint, she believes it was supplied with a sense of humour even when first published in 1924. "I think the legal advice about what happens if you find a dead body was done very much tongue in cheek, even then," she said.

Among the rest of the advice is tips on identifying birdsong ("The blackbird possesses a quite different emotional quality from the robin...") and what to eat on country jaunts ("Use tinned goods, but disguise them, No one should ever suspect that they are tinned.").

There are also ideas for games to play, such as human polo, where men play the horses and women and lighter men ride piggyback, and information on farming techniques, varieties of trees and weather forecasting.

Virginia Woolf was scathing of the book's success, saying: "Hogarth Press [which she and her husband ran] may not make any money - but at least we did not publish The Week-End Book."

Its fame spread to the other side of the world. The Melbourne Herald said: "It can be truthfully said that no house-party is complete without a copy of it."

Ideas for enjoying yourself: the 1924 advice

* ASTRONOMY

"The Earth is grilled by the Sun like a joint on a spit. It returns round and round on its axis, one complete turn taking a time of 24 hours. It is this rotation of the Earth that causes the procession of night and day."

* GAMES

MAN-HUNT: "This is strenuous and any number can join in. It is more exciting than a paper chase, and does not litter the country with paper. It is unsuitable for a crowded suburban area."

* THE WEATHER

"Before making an irrevocable decision to spend the week-end out of doors, the would-be camper is well advised to consult the Weather Forecast which appears in his morning paper."