What do you think?
Rate this book
The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift: Intellectual Barbarians
The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift: Intellectual Barbarians is the first full-length work to explore the innovative cultural production of the English camping and hiking organization (1920 - 1932). Founded after the First World War as a reaction to militarism in scouting, Kibbo Kift developed into an all-ages organization for men and women. It attracted the support of a range of high-profile writers, artists, scientists and campaigners from D.H. Lawrence to H.G. Wells.
Underpinned by a complex, distinctive philosophy, Kibbo Kift's practices were wide-ranging, extending across health and handicraft, pacifism and propaganda, myth and magic, education and economics. These ambitious ideas can be seen most clearly in the group's mystical and modernist art and design.
The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift: Intellectual Barbarians features over 100 largely unseen examples of the group's accomplished creative output. These include decorated tents, campaign banners, illuminated manuscripts, protest graphics, carved totems and ceremonial attire alongside previously unpublished photographs by Angus McBean. The textual content, underpinned by extensive research in public and private archives, provides comprehensive analysis of the group's original style and occult beliefs. Visually arresting in its own right, The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift: Intellectual Barbarians showcases a fascinating but overlooked body of work that has continuing resonance for twenty-first century oppositional art and culture.
Underpinned by a complex, distinctive philosophy, Kibbo Kift's practices were wide-ranging, extending across health and handicraft, pacifism and propaganda, myth and magic, education and economics. These ambitious ideas can be seen most clearly in the group's mystical and modernist art and design.
The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift: Intellectual Barbarians features over 100 largely unseen examples of the group's accomplished creative output. These include decorated tents, campaign banners, illuminated manuscripts, protest graphics, carved totems and ceremonial attire alongside previously unpublished photographs by Angus McBean. The textual content, underpinned by extensive research in public and private archives, provides comprehensive analysis of the group's original style and occult beliefs. Visually arresting in its own right, The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift: Intellectual Barbarians showcases a fascinating but overlooked body of work that has continuing resonance for twenty-first century oppositional art and culture.
222 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2015
6 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
About the author
Annebella Pollen
8 books8 followersAnnebella Pollen is Principal Lecturer and Academic Programme Leader in the History of Art and Design at the University of Brighton. She is widely published in the field of visual and material culture. She is the author of The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift: Intellectual Barbarians (2015), Mass Photography: Collective Histories of Everyday Life (I.B.Tauris, 2016) and co-editor of Dress History: New Directions in Theory and Practice (2015).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 23, 2016
The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift: Intellectual Barbarians is a magnificent book in which Annebella Pollen explores England’s most fascinating and forgotten youth movement. The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift was founded in 1920, by John Hargrave, as an alternative to the Boy Scouts, a non-militaristic, coeducational youth group which Hargreave believed would produce a core of healthy and creative individuals through whom the human race would evolve into a society without war and poverty. John Hargrave (known as 'White Fox’ in the Kibbo Kift) believed that it was this mentally disciplined, elite group, and not the emergent mass movements gaining popularity during the era, which were the way to achieve his aims.
The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift drew aesthetically on folklore and Anglo-Saxon tradition and focused on craft, ritual, camping and other outdoor pursuits, although this understates their strange clothes, flags, totems, tents, costumes and other artefacts. Part of what makes this book so wonderful is the plentiful photographs. John Hargrave worked in advertising and understood the power of the image, and was also acutely aware of creating and chronicling their mythology throughout the years they were active. Kibbo Kift was created almost wholly according to Hargrave’s vision. The Woodcraft Folk (another youth group) were formed by a breakaway group of disaffected members of the Kindred of the Kibbo Kift in 1925. I volunteer with The Woodcraft Folk and that was part of my motivation for reading this book, and I was particularly interested in some of the language and traditions that persist in Woodcraft today.
The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift was the first of three movements in England associated with John Hargrave (1894-1982). The Kindred was founded in 1920, evolved into the Green Shirt Movement for Social Credit in 1931-2, and became in 1935 the Social Credit Party of Great Britain which was wound up in 1951. Annebella Pollen focuses almost exclusively on the Kibbo Kift, though a couple of intriguing Green Shirt photos also appear in the book.
The book contains four lengthy and scholarly chapters: Movement, Culture, Spirit, and Resurrection. Each is fascinating, and the footnotes and bibliography inspired me to note a few other lines of enquiry. The Movement chapter outlines the group’s formation and development. The Culture chapter explores the groups beliefs and aesthetic - a mix of native American indian, English, Egyptian, modernism etc. The Spirit chapter investigates the occult, magical, and ritual aspects of the group which were explicitly non-Christian, and drew upon various late-19th and early 20th-century occult and gnostic ideas. The Resurrection chapter explores the group’s legacy and influence, which is more prevalent than I would have ever imagined.
There’s so much to take in that I will be rereading this book again soon. I come away inspired and dazzled by this extraordinary group and a book that seems to do them complete justice.
The book, published in September 2015, costs £35 which, whilst expensive, is still good value for such a beautiful book. If you have an interest in the 1920s and 1930s, youth movements, social trends, mysticism and the occult, design and branding, it is well worth considering. Click here for the publisher’s link.
The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift drew aesthetically on folklore and Anglo-Saxon tradition and focused on craft, ritual, camping and other outdoor pursuits, although this understates their strange clothes, flags, totems, tents, costumes and other artefacts. Part of what makes this book so wonderful is the plentiful photographs. John Hargrave worked in advertising and understood the power of the image, and was also acutely aware of creating and chronicling their mythology throughout the years they were active. Kibbo Kift was created almost wholly according to Hargrave’s vision. The Woodcraft Folk (another youth group) were formed by a breakaway group of disaffected members of the Kindred of the Kibbo Kift in 1925. I volunteer with The Woodcraft Folk and that was part of my motivation for reading this book, and I was particularly interested in some of the language and traditions that persist in Woodcraft today.
The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift was the first of three movements in England associated with John Hargrave (1894-1982). The Kindred was founded in 1920, evolved into the Green Shirt Movement for Social Credit in 1931-2, and became in 1935 the Social Credit Party of Great Britain which was wound up in 1951. Annebella Pollen focuses almost exclusively on the Kibbo Kift, though a couple of intriguing Green Shirt photos also appear in the book.
The book contains four lengthy and scholarly chapters: Movement, Culture, Spirit, and Resurrection. Each is fascinating, and the footnotes and bibliography inspired me to note a few other lines of enquiry. The Movement chapter outlines the group’s formation and development. The Culture chapter explores the groups beliefs and aesthetic - a mix of native American indian, English, Egyptian, modernism etc. The Spirit chapter investigates the occult, magical, and ritual aspects of the group which were explicitly non-Christian, and drew upon various late-19th and early 20th-century occult and gnostic ideas. The Resurrection chapter explores the group’s legacy and influence, which is more prevalent than I would have ever imagined.
There’s so much to take in that I will be rereading this book again soon. I come away inspired and dazzled by this extraordinary group and a book that seems to do them complete justice.
The book, published in September 2015, costs £35 which, whilst expensive, is still good value for such a beautiful book. If you have an interest in the 1920s and 1930s, youth movements, social trends, mysticism and the occult, design and branding, it is well worth considering. Click here for the publisher’s link.
September 25, 2025
After spending some time trying to find an affordable copy of this excellent book, I was very happy to discover the publisher still has a small supply. Beautifully designed and replete with amazing photographs of the merry band of neo-pagans, the core of the volume is Ms Pollen’s erudite account of the Kibbo Kift’s brief but colorful existence. The artistic style of the KK’s craft work suggests artifacts from another reality, maybe one where the Cherokee invented Expressionism. I especially like the text section on the mystical elements of the group and their awkward fit into the burgeoning tween-war scene of ritual magick and the birth of Wicca.
August 8, 2022
If you have a liking for utopian ideals and communities (failed or otherwise) then you will absolutely love this book.
The Kibbo-Kift was developed as a breakaway organisation from the imperialist Christian morally righteous Boy Scout/Girl guide movement of Baden Powell. Its autocratic leader, John Hargraves, emphasized an engagement with the landscape via ‘backwoods’ style camping, a love of handicraft and practical construction with members encouraged to make and decorate (within carefully deliniated limits) their own clothes, tents and ‘totems’. It advocated universal brother/sisterhood and this was underpinned by a ‘spiritual’ element that looked to myth and magic, with members taking Kift name, creating mumming events and engaging in various more ritualistic ceremonials. Hargraves hoped to create an international movement with its village (Kin Garth) its own airforce etc but, as with all fledgeling movements, money was an issue and the movement did not develop as Hargraves wished. As an advertising man, Hargraves was able to spin this and the movement slowly moved from a mass to a ‘select’ membership and his increasing interest in the social credit movement also began to change the focus of the group resulting in it becoming a far more mainstream political animal.
For contemporary readers, the original Kibbo Kift ideals make it a hugely romantic movement especially as it has been so forgotten. It is also fair to say that the numerous photos that accompany it add to this allure as both Hargraves and one of the movements major documenters (the photographer Angus McBean) understood the publicity value of a striking image. Robed members carrying banners marching in lines, others exercising in attitudes that look like sun-worship, tents decorated in a mixture of archaic symbols filtered by a modernist abstraction, beautiful hand made staffs and sceptres etc. Pollen has located members (or ex members families) and located a number of these objects which are photographed in colour for this book. It makes one wonder what would happen if the movement could be revived given how it crosses into so many contemporary fears regarding environment and social structure.
I loved this book but its presentation, which seems almost home made, (‘artisan’ is perhaps a kinder word) lets it down a little and in my niggardly way I would normally dock it a star. But I just cannot bring myself to do this and consider it it an essential purchase. Very highly recommended.
The Kibbo-Kift was developed as a breakaway organisation from the imperialist Christian morally righteous Boy Scout/Girl guide movement of Baden Powell. Its autocratic leader, John Hargraves, emphasized an engagement with the landscape via ‘backwoods’ style camping, a love of handicraft and practical construction with members encouraged to make and decorate (within carefully deliniated limits) their own clothes, tents and ‘totems’. It advocated universal brother/sisterhood and this was underpinned by a ‘spiritual’ element that looked to myth and magic, with members taking Kift name, creating mumming events and engaging in various more ritualistic ceremonials. Hargraves hoped to create an international movement with its village (Kin Garth) its own airforce etc but, as with all fledgeling movements, money was an issue and the movement did not develop as Hargraves wished. As an advertising man, Hargraves was able to spin this and the movement slowly moved from a mass to a ‘select’ membership and his increasing interest in the social credit movement also began to change the focus of the group resulting in it becoming a far more mainstream political animal.
For contemporary readers, the original Kibbo Kift ideals make it a hugely romantic movement especially as it has been so forgotten. It is also fair to say that the numerous photos that accompany it add to this allure as both Hargraves and one of the movements major documenters (the photographer Angus McBean) understood the publicity value of a striking image. Robed members carrying banners marching in lines, others exercising in attitudes that look like sun-worship, tents decorated in a mixture of archaic symbols filtered by a modernist abstraction, beautiful hand made staffs and sceptres etc. Pollen has located members (or ex members families) and located a number of these objects which are photographed in colour for this book. It makes one wonder what would happen if the movement could be revived given how it crosses into so many contemporary fears regarding environment and social structure.
I loved this book but its presentation, which seems almost home made, (‘artisan’ is perhaps a kinder word) lets it down a little and in my niggardly way I would normally dock it a star. But I just cannot bring myself to do this and consider it it an essential purchase. Very highly recommended.
November 13, 2020
A fascinating history of the scouts, back to the landism, proto hippy communes, Englishness, and white fetishism of non western community
February 1, 2023
Fascinating look at an unusual forgotten slice of English history.
January 13, 2024
Very informative and well written.
October 14, 2025
te tienen que gustar mucho este tipo de cosas para disfrutarlo
April 4, 2016
You will not find this in a store - it has to be ordered. It describes - for lack of better word - a cultural phenomena in between-war England. Given its nebulous subject matter (and academic comprehensiveness) it is a surprisingly engaging read. The pictures are stunning.
Basically Kibbo Kift was an organization that functioned along the lines of the scout movement but was involved in outdoor art, symbolism, and ritual inspired by neo-animist, indigenous, theosophist and other sources. Then there was a economic theory/political element that eventually subsumed all the other elements. The group and its philosophy was heavily influence by its founder John Hargrave. Hargrave appears to have been idealistic throughout his life; the counter cultural nature of KK was an understandable response to his experiences in WWI. It is a pattern that would be repeated on a larger scale throughout the 20th Century. However, KK was not a proto-hippy movement or anarchist. It was not trying to overturn prior conventions - but to draw broadly from the past for its own purposes. The biggest legacy of KK is the remarkable art that was created - which is shown and explained in the book.
Basically Kibbo Kift was an organization that functioned along the lines of the scout movement but was involved in outdoor art, symbolism, and ritual inspired by neo-animist, indigenous, theosophist and other sources. Then there was a economic theory/political element that eventually subsumed all the other elements. The group and its philosophy was heavily influence by its founder John Hargrave. Hargrave appears to have been idealistic throughout his life; the counter cultural nature of KK was an understandable response to his experiences in WWI. It is a pattern that would be repeated on a larger scale throughout the 20th Century. However, KK was not a proto-hippy movement or anarchist. It was not trying to overturn prior conventions - but to draw broadly from the past for its own purposes. The biggest legacy of KK is the remarkable art that was created - which is shown and explained in the book.
August 7, 2016
Very thorough and interesting research
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews