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It’s easy to get a bit sentimental over many of the golden-age Ladybird book illustrators and lose sight of the fact that they were busy working people, just earning a crust. For the most part, the artists don’t seem to…
Read moreJohn Berry and his work for Ladybird books. (Part one is here) As I said in my last post, the People at Work series was one of the first Ladybird series I remember. The first 7 titles represent for me…
Read moreThe thing about Ladybird Books … well, one of the things … there are a lot of things … but one of my favourite things about Ladybird Books is the way they capture domestic scenes in snapshot. Details of 20th…
Read moreFor me, John Berry is right up there with the very best illustrators. Although I’ve always enjoyed his artwork, he is another of the Ladybird artists that I’ve grown into more as I’ve got older. One reason is perhaps because his books are among…
Read moreSomething I find fascinating is when photographs come to light that were used by Ladybird artists as studies for their artwork. Here’s one that appeared on Twitter (via @russellsdesk) a couple of months ago – along with the image from…
Read moreNot long ago, I wrote about what it was that had led me to enjoy and appreciate the Ladybird artwork of C F Tunnicliffe. So, in a similar vein, here’s a very personal introduction to John Kenney. (This isn’t a…
Read moreDo you recognise any of the books in this picture? You probably do. These are just some of the books illustrated by the wonderful Martin Aitchison – one of the most versatile and prolific of all ‘Golden Age’ Ladybird artists….
Read moreI’ve always loved the pictures in Ladybird Books – but of course my preferences and tastes have changed over the decades. As a child, for example, I found most of John Berry’s ‘People at Work’ series dull and grey and…
Read moreAfter much publicity, the Ladybird By Design exhibition opened yesterday at the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea. Me – arriving, and cold! Having provided the books for the exhibition, I’d been invited to the lunch beforehand. There were loads of…
Read moreOn the 24th of January a new exhibition will be opening, celebrating the design of Ladybird Books through ‘the golden years’ of the 50s, 60s and early 70s. The exhibition will be held at the De La Warr Pavilion in…
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