Tom Cobley’s Mare
From the automaton at St Pancras Church, Widecombe in the Moor Continue reading Tom Cobley’s Mare
Tudor summer in Somerset
Indoors and outdoors at Lytes Cary and Montacute Above: A fireside companion, apparently used to make up the numbers at table, which can only have been slightly disturbing. Lytes Cary Manor (above) Montacute (below) Above: Tudor teeth in a pastoral setting. Continue reading Tudor summer in Somerset
Elgar’s bear: woodcuts from 1964
Unicorns and lawyers from BBC schools Found in the attic squashed between the Skippy the Kangaroo TV annual and Amateur Gardening 1972. Illustrations by John Griffiths. Continue reading Elgar’s bear: woodcuts from 1964
Abandoned Marvellous Mechanical Mouse Organ
Found outside a chapel last summer… Continue reading Abandoned Marvellous Mechanical Mouse Organ
John Fowles has left the building: Belmont, Lyme Regis
From 1968 until the turn of the century, John Fowles lived at Belmont, his home in Lyme Regis, Dorset. Author of The Magus and The French Lieutenant’s Woman, the latter is a post-modern take on the spirit of Thomas Hardy, an investigation of the Victorian psyche written in the midst of the 1960s’ liberating atmosphere. … Continue reading John Fowles has left the building: Belmont, Lyme Regis
Motifs in mind: daydreaming and escapist inspiration
For anyone still moved by other times & places – a ramble on their role in the everyday Regular readers (both of you) will know I’ve tried to explore something which would draw together all the eclectic strands of those things which capture my imagination. They extend into my domestic life: each time I made … Continue reading Motifs in mind: daydreaming and escapist inspiration
Portals in public places: Charles Keeping and Tibor Reich
Of all the illustrators you’d find in a mid-century public library (in my mind, there’s a formica desk, a lightly medicinal scent of polish from a parquet floor, heavy swing doors with perfect geometry and wired glass, perhaps a square of orange carpet and a few teak chairs with brown hessian covering) Charles Keeping would … Continue reading Portals in public places: Charles Keeping and Tibor Reich
Writers in covers: H E Bates
I’ve posted a few H E Bates covers before, but just to say again, I’ve no idea why he isn’t more appreciated these days. My own feeling is that he was too prolific and easily able to turn his hand to many genres, and much of his work was eclipsed by the Darling Buds of … Continue reading Writers in covers: H E Bates
Printer’s specimen book 1958, Pt.3
Yet more mid-century fonts, layouts and illustration from Abbey Mills, North Wales In the 21st century, anyone designing text and graphics has an infinite palette of colours and effects to throw at a design, and we can see the results vomited on street signs and shop fronts in all our towns. They’re not street signage … Continue reading Printer’s specimen book 1958, Pt.3
Printers’ specimen book 1958, Pt.2
More mid-century fonts, layouts and illustration from Abbey Mills, North Wales All these images are a reminder of how much has been lost in the age of digital printing: a traditional printer was a true craftsman, custodian of skills passed through generations and now lost forever. Of course letterpress lives on as a niche artisan … Continue reading Printers’ specimen book 1958, Pt.2
WHISTLES IN THE WIND 