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blue books:

In Britain, former official reports published by the government and Parliament on domestic and foreign affairs in the 19th and early 20th centuries, so named for their blue paper covers. They were usually the reports of a royal commission or a committee, but short acts of Parliament were also sometimes known as blue books, even when they had no cover.

The term was used especially for the reports issued in the 19th century which described social conditions in Britain, but has fallen into disuse. Economists, however, still refer to the annual publication National Income and Expenditure as the blue book.

The Hutchinson Encyclopedia, Helicon, © Helicon Publishing Limited 2001