Raymond Sheppard Illustrator

Monday 29 April 2013

Raymond Sheppard and Lilliput - Subsmash, the Affray affair

Lilliput March 1956 p.16
Lowering the camera

In investigating the works of Frank Bellamy I discovered that a piece of original art a collector owned, when matched to the published piece, had a drawing that was not used. The same occurred on two occasions that I have found in the case of Raymond Sheppard.

Recently Christine Sheppard asked me to identify some art in her collection of her father's work and she sent me a photograph to work from of the original art board.

Subsmash by Marshall Pugh appeared in Lilliput 6 March 1956 (pp16 -23) and Bill Contento's excellent site Fictionmags Index has two stories listed by the author:

PUGH, MARSHALL (Morrison) (1925-1976) (chron.)

* “Right or Wrong - Stand Still!”, (ar) Lilliput May 1955; about army training.

* Subsmash!, (ar) Lilliput Jun 1956; about the search for the submarine Affray in 1952.

The British Library lists various books - I guess these are the same author - but it is a guess:

Commander Crabb .London: MacMillan, 1956.
A Wilderness of Monkeys. [A novel.] London : Hutchinson, 1958.
The Chancer, London : World Distributors, 1961.
Stranger any Place, London : World Distributors, 1965.
A murmur of mutiny, Harmondsworth : Penguin, 1974.
A dream of treason, Harmondsworth : Penguin, 1978.

The full story of the disappearance of the submarine Affray is told in a book available called Subsmash: The Mysterious Disappearance of HM Submarine Affray I'm showing you the whole of the shorter article from Lilliput to demonstrate how small drawings were published. And I'm fortunate enough that Christine has let me use some of her dad's original art.


Lilliput March 1956 Cover

Lilliput March 1956 p.17
Crabb is lowered into the water

Original art - the bright section is due to flash photography

Lilliput March 1956 p.18
Two ships sweep the Channel for the Affray (cliffs in background)
A motor torpedo boat sails west

Original art -
NOTE: The Art Editor has stated the reproduction size of 6 3/4 inches

Lilliput March 1956 p.19
Tables and chairs are spotted floating in the water

Lilliput March 1956 p.20
Destroyer rushes to the spot

Lilliput March 1956 p.21
Ships drop buoys as markers

Lilliput March 1956 p.22
The drum with underwater camera is lowered at night
Crew all look over the side

Lilliput March 1956 p.23
Fish shoal beneath a ship

It took me a few minutes to realise that the mention of a forthcoming book in the article "The watch below" (see bottom right of the above page) became "Commander Crabb" as a search of the major bibliographic sites turned up nothing on first title. But the Canadian Naval Diver's Association [opens a PDF] has a review written about the book and the fact that due to Crabb's disappearance near publication, (quite a famous case apparently - Wikipedia gives us plenty to start with) the book was revised and issued under the alternate title - so there is no "The watch below" written by Pugh

Original art - ship steams east; shaol of fish; crew looking over side

Lastly we also have the original art for some of these smaller pieces. And that shows us something interesting. The police car and the utility van mentioned in the story are drawn but rejected for publication. Why? We don't know! We have evidence that Alfred J. Silverton was the Art Editor in 1957 so it could have been his action that marked 'R.I.P.' against the shoal of fish or the crew shot which implies one was due for the chop. Perhaps he thought he could use the fish scene in the short piece on Crabb as it's a diver's view and therefore cut another shot - the police car. This is all supposition on my part. But it's fun to speculate, especially as we see what was and what was not published.

Original art - showing 3 pieces, one of which was not published -
the police car and utility van

Monday 15 April 2013

Raymond Sheppard, Lilliput stories and Gerald Durrell

Raymond Sheppard illustrated many stories in Lilliput between1951 and 1957. I am missing one or two issues of the magazine and will have to add them to my search list to double check they do not contain Sheppard drawings. I've chosen a few to show you to demonstrate his great illustrative talent. There are 70 issues containing Sheppard illustrations (and many other great artists) so we shouldn't run out of material any time soon!

Lilliput issues with Sheppard illustrations
1951	8
1952	12
1953	11
1954	6
1955	12
1956	10
1957	11
Total issues	70

Lilliput July 1954 (Cover by Victoria)

Gibson Cowan tells his story (On your own) of his first sailing adventure in a two masted boat, a yawl. Sheppard shows this in the first of two illustrations he did for the story. Is this the same Gibson-Cowan - note the hyphen - that's associated with taking Elizabeth David across to France and starting her love of Mediterranean cooking? It looks to be based on some comments I've seen. The second illustration shows Gibson-Cowan approaching a lighthouse ship in fog

In 1930, the author bought his first ship, a ten-ton yawl, and with no experience of sailing other than that gained on Regent's Park Lake, decided to make his first single-handed voyage from Hamble River to Le Havre. Subsequently he became captain of a 200-ton schooner during the Second World War, and since then has sailed most of the Oceans of the world in various craft. This is the memory of his first ocean trip.

Lilliput July 1954, p.73

Lilliput June 1954 (Cover by Victoria)

The next one is interesting in that Gerald Durrell (who was perfectly matched for illustrations by Sheppard) drafts an incident (Forest of flying mice) that appeared later in the renowned The Bafut Beagles also published in 1954. We see a group of 'flying mice', actually more like squirrels who glide, as well as Durrell himself (did Sheppard have photo reference?) climbing the inside of a hollow tree with a local man's shadow at the base.We also see Jacob, a local from Cameroon, climb a tree above the hollowed one Durrell is investigating. He lowers the string to enable Durrell to tie nets and boxes to catch the squirrels.


Lilliput June 1954, p. 65 Flying squirrels and Durrell ascending a hollow tree

Lilliput June 1954, p. 67
An idiurus climbs down a trunk

Lilliput June 1954, p. 66
"[Jacob] lowered the end of a long piece of string to us"

If you want to know more about this topic read Karl Shuker's fascinating account

Lilliput May 1954 (Cover by Victoria)

Another Gerald Durrell story, this time in the local 'patoi' which Durrell used a lot in the previous story "Dis beef 'e chop too much". The beef in question, Durrell initially sees as a typhlops (which Wikipedia describes as a 'blind snake') and therefore harmless. Unfortunately for Durrell, it is not a typhlops and bites him.

The illustration by Raymond Sheppard shows Durrell grasping his arm with Jacob helping and the cook standing behind them both. The snake is on the verandah below them. The second picture shows Durrell slicing his wound open and the third, Cameroon men gathered around a car owned by the 'Fon'

Lilliput May 1954, p. 65
Durrell and Jacob and Cook on verandah
- Durrell drops snake after being bitten

Lilliput May 1954, p. 65
Cameroon men gather around
Durrell attacks his wound with a razor

Monday 8 April 2013

Raymond Sheppard and Round the Year Stories: Spring

ROUND THE YEAR: SPRING BY MARIBEL EDWIN

Dustjacket

BACKGROUND

Maribel Edwin appears to have written many books on nature in fictional form for children from the 1920s to the 1960s. Brian and the Wood-Folk. [A nature story for children.] appears to be published by Dent & Sons, 1924 and the last I can find is Bilberry Summer illustrated by Victor Ambrus, published by Collins, in 1965.

The Bookman (December 1933, pp. 232) reviewed her Wild Life Stories and commented: "Maribel Edwin is the pen-name of the daughter of the late Sir Arthur Thomson, and something of his mantle has certainly fallen upon her." and in the flyleaf for the 1950 compilation of all four seasons it states: "Mrs Maribel Edwin, daughter of the late Professor Arthur Thomson of Aberdeen"

If I have the right one - and I think I do - the Who's Who tells us:

THOMSON, Sir (John) Arthur Kt, 1930; MA, Hon. LLD (Edinburgh, McGill, California, and Aberdeen) Born East Lothian, 8 July 1861; m 1889; three s one d ; died 12 Feb. 1933 lately Regius Prof. of Natural History, Aberdeen University, 1899–1930

‘THOMSON, Sir (John) Arthur’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U218127, accessed 7 April 2013]

and the Times tells us:

He was happily married and had three sons, including Dr. A. L. Thomson, assistant secretary to the Medical Research Council, and Dr. D. L. Thomson, associate professor of biochemistry at McGill, and one daughter

"Sir J. Arthur Thomson." Times [London, England] 13 Feb. 1933: 8. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 7 Apr. 2013.

Poor Maribel, we don't even know her name! But other than that I can't find much about her. I have put together a crude listing of her writings below for anyone wanting to research her further

What's Sheppard's connection? He drew four colour plates and thirteen black and white drawings

Round the Year: Spring, Frontispiece: lapwing flies to nest.

Round the Year: Spring,p36b Swan flies from nest.

Round the Year: Spring,p100b Coot with chicks following.

Round the Year: Spring,p 84b Fox pins down partridge.

Round the Year: Spring,p15 Boys lifts lapwing

Round the Year: Spring,p21 Hedgehog and saucer

Round the Year: Spring,p29 Willow-Warbler feeding chicks in nest

Round the Year: Spring,p35 Mute swan and three cygnets

Round the Year: Spring,p 43 Fieldmice and babies

Round the Year: Spring,p51Woodcock with chick between legs

Round the Year: Spring,p57 Mole eats worm

Round the Year: Spring,p65 Cuckoo fed by a meadow-pipit.

Round the Year: Spring,p73 Puffin gazes down hole

Round the Year: Spring,p79 Spotted flycatcher catches flying insects

Round the Year: Spring,p87 Partridge and chicks

Round the Year: Spring,p95 Black-headed gulls and terns

Round the Year: Spring,p103 Coot chick spots fish jumping

Lastly to demonstrate the inferior quality of printing in the 1950s we have below two digital photos of the proofs sent to Raymond Sheppard - used with permission of Christine Sheppard - and the colour on them is superb compared to the scans I have made above.

TITLE of writings by Maribel Edwin	DATE
Brian and the Wood-Folk. [A nature story for children.].	London: J. M. Dent & Sons, 1924.
Rovers & Stay-at-homes, etc. [Tales of animals.].	London: J. M. Dent & Sons, 1927.
In England--Now!" The countryside week by week.illustrated by F I Noble.	London: Sheldon Press [1930]
The Valiant Jester.	London: Ward, Lock & Co., 1930.
Windfall Harvest.	London: Ward, Lock & Co., 1931.
Wild folk at home.	London: 1932.
Wild Life Stories, etc.	T. Nelson & Sons: London, [1933]
Martin's annual - The chase / Maribel Edwin (ed. Joan Beauchamp)	New York : Martin Lawrence, [1935]
What can we do now?" A younger week-end book, ("Out and about in the country; a nature calendar, by Maribel Edwin": p. 123-153; "Round the year on the seashore, by L. R. Brightwell": p. 175-195.)	London: T. Nelson and sons. [1935]
Atmosphere for Gloria.	London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1935.
Return to youth.	London, 1937.
Wild life stories.	London: 1938.
Round the year stories. The spring book	London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1938.
Countryside Tales.	London, [1938]
Round the year stories. The summer book	London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1938.
Sound alibi.	New York, Hillman-Curl, 1938.
Round the year stories. The winter book	London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1939.
Round the year stories. The autumn book	London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1939.
The Little Ass in Argosy (UK) [v 5 # 8],	September 1944
Snow Scene in Argosy (UK) [v 6 # 2],	February 1945
Nature's year.	New York, Longmans, Green [1947]
The Goad by M. Edwin, pp. 5-12 in Argosy	December 1950
This way to Greenacres	Longmans-Green, 1950.
Round the year stories (all 4 seasons in one volume)	Nelson, 1950.
Curlew Jon	Nelson, 1953.
The Zigzag Path ... Illustrated by Kiddell-Monroe.	Pp. vi. 225. Thomas Nelson & Sons: Edinburgh, 1955.
The Double Halfpenny ... Illustrated by Robert Hodgson.	Pp. vii. 211. Thomas Nelson & Sons: London, 1956.
The bridge under the water	Nelson, 1957.
The Snowbound Bus ... Illustrations by Margery Gill.	London : Thomas Nelson & Sons, [1960]
The Hidden House. Illustrated by Prue Theobalds.	London : Thomas Nelson & Sons, [1963]
Bilberry Summer ... Illustrated by Victor Ambrus.	London : Collins, 1965.

Here's a link to all four Edwin versions:

Round the Year Stories: Spring with a brief biography and bibliography
Round the Year Stories: Summer with a further biography
Round the Year Stories: Autumn
Round the Year Stories: Winter
Round the Year Stories (all four seasons)

Monday 1 April 2013

The Animal Doctor - Part Three

In this last part of my article showing Raymond Sheppard's illustrations to Animal Doctor I feature the rest of the illustrations which include many of his animal drawings. In these days of instant finding on the Net, we forget what trouble finding a picture of an Italian Greyhound - for example - would have been.many illustrations are just that and the scene depicted might not appear in the story itself.