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Below you’ll find interviews and information on Ladybird Book artists, writers and other figures significant in the Ladybird story. You’ll find a broader overview here.
When in later life John Berry sat down to write his memoirs he gave it the working title ‘A Brush with Life’. It was a good choice to sum up the working life of an artist who created such sensitive,…
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Last week, on the anniversary of Howard Carter first looking into the tomb of Tutankhamun and glimpsing “Wonderful Things!” – I tweeted a suitable illustration from Ladybird book (of course). But just the week before, I had had my own…
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Many of us today who have a love of history may feel this is in part due to the vivid and enthralling Ladybird illustrations in the history books that they grew up with. On Thursday 13th of June, a plaque…
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This table looks pretty unremarkable. It’s plain and simple and with a formica top. Some of us will remember tables like this in the house of relatives – or perhaps have one lurking somewhere in our own. So what’s it…
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Last week I spent an afternoon surrounded by the artwork of the Ladybird artist John Kenney. I went to The MERL (Museum of English Rural Life) in Reading where the Special Collections are stored. I’ve talked about MERL and the…
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Here are some of the photos from the Ladybird exhibition: Ladybird Artists Opening Event in Canterbury on Friday 8th (the evening before the public opening). It will run until the 23rd September 2018 at The Beaney House of Art and…
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Here are more details about my Ladybird artists exhibition, which will be taking place in Canterbury over the summer months (2018). It will be held at The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, in the centre of Canterbury. Theere’s more information…
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Of all the ‘golden age’ Ladybird artists, it could be argued that Ronald Lampitt has the most distinctive style. He never received formal art training and it is interesting to speculate whether, had he attended art college, something of this…
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Martin Aitchison, died this week at the age of 96. You might not know his name, but if you are reading this post, there’s a good chance you remember some of his illustrations for Ladybird Books. Until this week I…
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…
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