Raymond Sheppard and Noah's Ark Annual 1937

Raymond Sheppard was born in 1913 and as with all artists from this era that I look at, it is difficult to find his earliest published professional work. Why am I being so pedantic? Because those of you who have read my short piece in Illustrators #2 might remember he won a prize in a drawing competition at the age of 7 years of age. Here's a rough copy of the Observer of 13 March 1921

Observer 13 march 1921 p.

However I'd like to add that I suspect the following is one of his earliest professional pieces to appear in print. I know of some Boy's Own Paper work in 1938 and books in 1939. Steve Holland answered an email regarding the pictures on his site saying he wasn't sure he had time to explore them any further, but liked the covers when he discovered them in an archive, having only the time to photograph them.

I have scanned the two pieces in Noah's Ark Annual 1937 that are signed ("Sheppard") together with the cover, although I do wonder about some other illustrations in the book that although unsigned might be Sheppard. Noah's Ark Annual ran from 1934-1937 and was published by Amalgamated Press and thankfully for me has page numbers!

The first Sheppard illustration shows a boy and man in a trap in a farmyard with piglets running in the background and a cockerel in the foreground. The second is of three girls (and their terrier) at the pond or lake's edge feeding flying gulls and - what appear to be -  giant swans!

Cover - Artist unknown

Page 29: A day with Dobbin

Page 75 Feeding the birds in the park