.... A SPECIAL PURPOSE BOOK....
Just what is a 'Special Purpose Book'? The simple answer is that this book, widely known as the Boxall Rubaiyat, was made specifically for its purpose and its purpose in this case was to be used as a training aid for those engaged in the business of espionage.
A big statement? Yes, you could say that. But is there any evidence to back it up? And again the answer is 'yes' and you're actually looking at it.
Before the Stuart Littlemore interview, an image of this page from the book showed that the name 'JESTYN' was covered over with a piece of paper and some sticky taoe to hold that paper in place.
At some time after the interview, Alf or someone else removed that paper, and in the process, they tore away a layer from the paper of that page. You can see it quite clearly as outlined in orange.
That can only mean that the paper of the pages in the book was coated, in fact, the core paper had a minute pattern printed on it, if you look closely you will see markings inside the marked area. That pattern got there from special rollers over which the paper was processed and which left those marks. The next step in the process is to apply the coating. This was made from either a wax or an adhesive of some kind. It provided a degree of water resistance and added strength/ toughness to the pages.
The paper was in fact what is known today as a 'security' paper. In the war years, it was used extensively for in-the-field message pads, carrier pigeon notes, etc. It had an added benefit in that the background 'water markings' served to obscure to an extent any hidden writings or indentations on the paper.
As far as I can ascertain, security paper was not used for normal book production during WW2. As it happens, I have a copy of the same edition of the Rubaiyat, and the paper is definitely not coated. Coated paper is smoother and less porous, not necessarily glossy, my copy is quite rough due I think to the significant paper shortages in the war years.
Here's an unmarked version of the Jestyn signature shown at the head of this post:
