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Janet and Anne Johnstone Illustrate Tales of Long Ago by Enid Blyton
A book by Enid Blyton might seem an unlikely fit with this blog, but Tales of Long Ago"retold" by Enid Blyton is a rather fun book which takes myths and legends which are mainly Greek but which include...
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1950s and 60s Gang Show Song Books
I don't need to rehearse here the history of The Gang Show, a huge phenomenon within the Scouting movement around the world in which Scouts and Guides at various levels from local to national produce...
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Vintage Swimwear Holiday Snaps
It's been a while since I have bought any vintage swimwear photos. In fact, I think it has been since the Brexit vote last year. When the pound tanked, it wasn't that I looked at things like this...
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Joyce Mercer Illustrates The Dragon of Wantley
A few days ago I was excitedly blogging some of the work of Joyce Mercer and promising that there would likely be more in days to come... well here it is. The Dragon of Wantley is a perfect foil for...
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Gaston Goor Pastels
Earlier today Keys Auction House in Norfolk auctioned off a reasonably significant collection of art from the estate of the composer Sir Malcolm Arnold. Among the pieces sold were a number of Gaston...
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Heaven and Hell in Soho
At a flea market today this real photographic postcard leapt out at me. A Coffee Lounge in Soho, in Old Compton Street no less, called Heaven and Hell. A simple conceit, the upstairs was heaven and the...
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More Films and Filming
Back where I found the first stash of Films and Filming magazines a few months ago I can't resist another bundle. So here are ten more covers from the gay magazine that wasn't a gay magazine of the...
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The Empire Youth Annual 1951
Regular readers will know that when I am in a bookshop, my 'oooh shiny!' response is often triggered by a bit of mid-20th-century artwork or illustration, even when that occasionally verges on the...
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Jesters in Earnest: Czech Political Cartoons in WW2
 In 1944, the Czechoslovak Institute in London, together with the Czech newspaper for exiles in Britain presented an exhibition of the work of Czech political cartoonists. They published this book with...
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Stig Blomberg. Sculptor
 Well, the rather long absence from the blog has been occasioned by, among other things, a happy holiday on the North Yorkshire Moors. So, shall we just pretend like I've not been away and get back to...
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Children of Love by Harold Monro
Harold Monro is perhaps a more influential character when it comes to early 20th century poetry than he is given credit for. He was the founder of The Poetry Bookshop and editor of The Poetry Review....
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Dracula Arrives in Whitby
On a recent holiday in North Yorkshire I found myself in Whitby. And what's not to love about Whitby: Captain Cook, Dracula, Whitby Museum with its Hand of Glory, renowned fish and chips and scampi, a...
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A Portrait of Otto
Those of you who follow the fortunes of Albert Wainwright's work in the markets may have already seen this portrait of his young friend Otto which was sold at Dreweatts at the end of march. The...
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Barry Wilkinson Illustrates A Boat and Bax by Roger Collinson
As regular readers will know I am a big fan of this style of pen and ink illustration seen in children's books in particular through the 1950s to the 1970s. I still haven't come up with a suitable...
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Dreams of Space
For many years now I have been following a blog called "Dreams of Space". It's a collection of "Non-fiction children's space flight stuff 1945-1975" which, as someone who appreciates a good collection,...
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John S Barrington at Auction
John S Barrington is a fascinating figure, a photographer, publisher, and artist, who has featured on Front Free Endpaper a number of times before in quite some detail. These images, along with...
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Edward Bawden Illustrates Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang is best remembered for his Fairy Books. Twelve books of fairy stories each distinguished by being given a colour in both title and binding, illustrated profusely and elaborately guilt...
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Lionel Birch by Robert J Kirkpatrick
Lionel Birch (christened as Jack Ernest Lionel Birch) was born in Chelsea on 11 April 1910. His father was John Somerville Birch (1861-1913), a highly-regarded diplomat in Egypt; his mother was Ethel...
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Harold Copping illustratates Quills by Walter C Rhoades
As we have recently had a guest post from the King of All Things School-Story on the blog I thought this seemed an appropriate follow on. I don't normally buy school story books myself but flicking...
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Vintage Swimwear - It's been a while...
It's been a while since I have bought anything new by way of vintage photos of guys in swimwear to add to my collection. However, this one caught my eye and as it has arrived in the middle of some very...
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