Pictures from an Old Book

This book should be a classic if it isn't one already! A simple story about accepting - and embracing - the differences between various species (and obviously among us humans!). The cute little pig of the story is plagued by hundreds of flies (and bad smells) that follow him everywhere, causing nuisance to any new acquaintances... Until he finds somebody who really appreciates all those flies!

This beautiful and very funny story is made even better with Russell Ayto's brilliant drawings. Ayto (born 1960, UK) has been my favourite contemporary children's illustrator for some years now. This short biography on wikipedia is good for reference on the many books he illustrated: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Ayto

I don't have any information on these illustrators. There is no indication in the book about which pictures were produced by each artist. I suspect that one of the two artists would have been responsible for the various informative and instructional pictures while the other did these beautiful, decorative illustrations - and there are many more. A very thorough book with information on every type of meat, fish, cheese etc as well as advice on utensils, pans, cookers and even a kitchen layout! Some of the recipes don't look too healthy to me though, and the colour photos of the dishes are enough to put you off attempting any of them!

Joe Tilson - "Odeon", 1962

Quadrum was an International Art Journal published by the Bruxelles L'Association pour la diffusion artistique et culturelle between 1956 and 1966. The articles were in French, German, Italian and English. These pictures are from an essay on English Pop Art written by Robert Melville. Artists mentioned in the article include Peter Blake (b.1932), Joe Tilson (b.1928), Peter Phillips (b.1939) and Derek Boshier (b.1937).

Derek Boshier - "Oil On Canvas", 1964

Peter Phillips - "For Men Only Sharing MM and BB", 1961

Peter Blake - "Drum Majorette", 1961

Also included in this Quadrum issue are a some really good reproductions of works by Victor Vasarely - a Hungarian-French artist, 1906-1997) accompanying an article by Henri Van Lier. Vasarely was a major figure in 20th century art. He pioneered a highly distinctive and idiosyncratic style of painting that creates an optical illusion of movement when observed (hence the term "op", I guess). Influenced by the Bauhaus artists such Mondrian and Malevich his paintings are minimalistic and geometric, often in pure black and white colours. Apart from the wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Vasarely I found this really good website dedicated to Op Art, http://www.op-art.co.uk/victor-vasarely/ and also his biography from the Tate Gallery in London: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/victor-vasarely-2095

The lovable pirate, Captain Horatio Pugwash - the creation of British illustrator and author John Ryan (1921-2009). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ryan_(cartoonist) Pugwash, always being pursued by his sworn enemy, Cut-Throat Jake and his pirates with their ship "The Flying Dustman". Always saved in the end of course by his clever and resourceful cabin boy called Tom. This is by far my most favourite Pugwash book mainly because of its beautiful and delicate black and white illustrations. The design and layout of the pages are also very interesting, and the stories are hilarious for children and adults alike.

Classic 1950's humorous caricatures by Gerard Hoffnung (born in Berlin 1925 - London 1959). Hoffnung was one of many artists and intellectuals whose families fled Nazi Germany in the 1930's to settle in Britain. Here's his biography from wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Hoffnung I was really lucky to find two of his books dating from 1957 and 1959 in a fairly good condition earlier this year. I'll be featuring the other book - called "Acoustics" - in this blog sometime next year.

These striking illustrations come from a 1950's fashion catalogue my dad always had in his songwriting workshop. It's dusty, torn, pages wrinkly, cover and many pages missing but it's still quite a thick catalogue with hundreds of pages filled with these brilliant illustrations! The printing quality is also superb which enables you to study in detail each line and drawing mark. I love the economy of the lines and how the artist can convey the type of the materials, the styling, the flow, colours and patterns of the dresses without over-crowding the artwork. The perfection on the faces of the beautiful models made a huge impression on me as a teenager! Some are obviously based on young Audrey Hepburn - or would it be the other way round? Shame we'll never know the name of the artist.

"Whiff" by Ian Whybrow, Illustrated by Russell Ayto (Picture Corgi Books, London 2000)

"Whiff" by Ian Whybrow, Illustrated by Russell Ayto (Picture Corgi Books, London 2000) - Part 2

"Good Housekeeping's Cookery Book" Illustrations By Fred Reeves and Douglas Woodall (published by Ebury Press London 1948 - this edition 1962)

"Good Housekeeping's Cookery Book" Illustrations By Fred Reeves and Douglas Woodall (published by Ebury Press London 1948 - this edition 1962) - Part 2

"Good Housekeeping's Cookery Book" Illustrations By Fred Reeves and Douglas Woodall (published by Ebury Press London 1948 - this edition 1962) - Part 3

"Quadrum 17" Cover Artwork By Joe Tilson (published by A.D.A.C., Brussels 1964)

"Quadrum 17" Cover Artwork By Joe Tilson (published by A.D.A.C., Brussels 1964) Part 2

"Quadrum 17" Cover Artwork By Joe Tilson (published by A.D.A.C., Brussels 1964) Part 3

"Pugwash And The Mutiny" and "Pugwash And The Fancy-Dress Party" By John Ryan (Penguin Books Ltd, London 1985 - originally published by The Bodley Head Ltd, 1982)

"Pugwash And The Mutiny" and "Pugwash And The Fancy-Dress Party" By John Ryan (Penguin Books Ltd, London 1985 - originally published by The Bodley Head Ltd, 1982) - Part 2

"Pugwash And The Mutiny" and "Pugwash And The Fancy-Dress Party" By John Ryan (Penguin Books Ltd, London 1985 - originally published by The Bodley Head Ltd, 1982) - Part 3

"Pugwash And The Mutiny" and "Pugwash And The Fancy-Dress Party" By John Ryan (Penguin Books Ltd, London 1985 - originally published by The Bodley Head Ltd, 1982) - Part 4

"The Hoffnung Symphony Orchestra" By Gerard Hoffnung (Published by Dobson Books Ltd, London 1955) Part 1

"The Hoffnung Symphony Orchestra" By Gerard Hoffnung (Published by Dobson Books Ltd, London 1955) Part 2

"The Hoffnung Symphony Orchestra" By Gerard Hoffnung (Published by Dobson Books Ltd, London 1955) Part 3

"The Hoffnung Symphony Orchestra" By Gerard Hoffnung (Published by Dobson Books Ltd, London 1955) Part 4

"1950's Clothes Catalogue" - Artist Unknown

"1950's Clothes Catalogue" - Artist Unknown (part 2)

"1950's Clothes Catalogue" - Artist Unknown (part - 3)

"What Are The Seven Wonders Of The World?" Peter D' Epiro & Mary Desmond Pinkowish, Illustrations by Richard Beards (The Folio Society, London 2005)