Feathers
solidarity ZIMBABWE - March 17, c. 1970
Between the 1960s and 1990s, more than fifty designers worked at OSPAAAL. Based in Cuba, they made magazines and posters that were sent around the world. Their aim was to promote radical political ideas. Many of their posters celebrate socialist revolutions and liberation movements from the Global South.
Rough cover illustration for "Carlotta Mc Bride", c. 1959
Janina Ede (1937-2018) created covers and illustrations for over 100 books from the 1950s to the 1980s. One of her earliest cover designs was for Carlotta McBride, a novel following the eponymous character in Paris, New York and Hollywood. It’s descriptions of sex and lesbian relationships led to the book being banned in Australia.
Alexander the circus pony, 1943
The Puffin Picture Books series was established by designer and editor Noel Carrington (1895-1989). In 1933, artist Pearl Binder (1904-1990) sent Carrington a package of Soviet children’s books. “They were produced by the million on very cheap paper, but the drawings were vigorous and the colour delightful” he later remembered. These books inspired Carrington to edit a series of affordable books that would encourage “the child’s awakening interest in its surroundings... I felt that colour was essential, and that artists could... be more successful in books of this nature than the camera”. Many artists and illustrators worked on the series, adapting their ways of working to lithographic printing and the Puffin Picture Book format. Most of the 120 books in the series were printed on one large sheet of paper: one side in colour and one in black-and-white. Each sheet was cut, folded and stapled to create a softcover book.
Illustration for Beauty and the Beast (the wedding), c. 1875
Eleanor Vere Boyle (1825 – 1916) illustrated poetry and prose by some of the most popular authors of her time. She regularly drew and painted using ink and watercolour, sketching landscapes, animals and her children from life. She also made drawings from her imagination, often reflecting spiritual themes. This illustration is from Boyle’s 1875 retelling of Beauty and the Beast, a fairy tale where a woman is imprisoned by a monster and falls in love with him. Unlike other illustrated versions before or since, Boyle gave her beast walrus-like tusks and flippers. In several of her illustrations, Boyle used shell gold – a mixture of finely ground gold powder and gum arabic (tree sap) that would have been stored in a shallow seashell. In the final publication, the caption for this illustration reads, "Love is the magic, that makes all things fair."
Illustration for Beauty and the Beast (the Merchant entering the Beast's Garden), c. 1875
Eleanor Vere Boyle (1825 – 1916) illustrated poetry and prose by some of the most popular authors of her time. She regularly drew and painted using ink and watercolour, sketching landscapes, animals and her children from life. She also made drawings from her imagination, often reflecting spiritual themes. This illustration is from Boyle’s 1875 retelling of Beauty and the Beast, a fairy tale where a woman is imprisoned by a monster and falls in love with him. Unlike other illustrated versions before or since, Boyle gave her beast walrus-like tusks and flippers. In several of her illustrations, Boyle used shell gold – a mixture of finely ground gold powder and gum arabic (tree sap) that would have been stored in a shallow seashell. In the final publication, the caption for this illustration reads, "The Merchant found a little door in the wall, and he opened it, and went into the Beast's Garden."
Orlando’s Evening Out, 1944
The Puffin Picture Books series was established by designer and editor Noel Carrington (1895-1989). In 1933, artist Pearl Binder (1904-1990) sent Carrington a package of Soviet children’s books. “They were produced by the million on very cheap paper, but the drawings were vigorous and the colour delightful” he later remembered. These books inspired Carrington to edit a series of affordable books that would encourage “the child’s awakening interest in its surroundings... I felt that colour was essential, and that artists could... be more successful in books of this nature than the camera”. Many artists and illustrators worked on the series, adapting their ways of working to lithographic printing and the Puffin Picture Book format. Most of the 120 books in the series were printed on one large sheet of paper: one side in colour and one in black-and-white. Each sheet was cut, folded and stapled to create a softcover book.
