Tag Archives: British Cartoon Archive

Sport in Special Collections and Archives

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With the excitement of both the Euros and Wimbledon, sports fever has gripped Special Collections and Archives, so we thought we’d explore how the two sports have been represented in cartoons across the decades and open the reading room for a free drop in this Friday 12th July to showcase some of the incredible artworks we hold. Read on for a sneaky preview of the cartoonists whose work will be on display!

 

Tom Webster (1886-1962)

Tom Webster specialised as a sports cartoonist and pioneered his characteristic “running comment” cartoon style in response to the growing popularity of press photography; “I saw the red light,” he later recalled, “and realised that I had to find something the camera could not do”. After serving as a Lance Corporal in WWI, including action in the Battle of the Somme, he joined Northcliffe’s London Evening News as a sports cartoonist in 1918, and transferred to its sister paper, the Daily Mail, in 1919. His narrative cartoons began life at the sporting events themselves, where he would draw rapidly in pocket sketchbooks, and it proved quite a feat to meet the deadline for the next day’s paper. Equipped with his reference material, Webster explained, “I have to settle the sequence of the episodes, work up to the climax of my comic story, and pencil the whole thing in, within half an hour. This leaves me about three-quarters of an hour for finishing in ink.’ His cartoons were so popular that the Daily Mail provided Webster with a chauffeur-driven Daimler, fitted with an easel, so that he could start drawing on the way back from sporting events to the office. By 1924 he was reputedly the highest-paid cartoonist in the world.

Webster played golf with Herbert Chapman, manager of Arsenal Football Club, and supposedly inspired him with his habit of wearing a red sleeveless sweater over a white shirt to redesign the club’s red shirts in 1933 to incorporate their trademark white collar and sleeves. According to Webster’s family, he produced the design himself, and was rewarded with a shirt signed by the players on the sleeves and the directors on the collar. Webster covered plenty of football matches over the course of his cartooning career, and one player that features frequently in our collection is Charlie Buchan (1891-1960). Buchan started his career with Woolwich Arsenal (as it was then) in 1909, and – following a successful career with Sunderland – returned to Arsenal in 1925, seeing the club to their first FA Cup final in 1927. Webster seemingly makes much of the striker’s height!

Tom Webster cartoon of the Sunderland football team, featuring Charlie Buchan in the front row, centre, towering over the other players.

Buchan (Sunderland). Daily Mail (1921) – British Cartoon Archive, Tom Webster TW0287

Another notable sports personality of the early 20th century was French tennis player Suzanne Lenglen, the inaugural world No. 1 from 1921 to 1926. Invariably drawn with her short black bob and coloured bandeau, Webster seems less concerned about reporting on her skill, however, than he does in implicating her femininity. One can recognise the same trait in Webster’s contemporary, W. K. Haselden, in whose abstract cartoons about tennis a recognisably similar woman appears.

Tom Webster cartoon of Suzanne Lenglen reprimanding an American press photographer.

Champion of the world. Weekly Dispatch (20 November 1926) – British Cartoon Archive, Tom Webster TW1292

 

William Haselden (1872-1953)

A self-taught artist, Haselden is principally known as a social cartoonist and he had a steady career with the Daily Mirror from 1904 until his retirement in 1940. He worked with pen and Indian ink on board and developed a special multi-frame format, usually of six images, as his trademark style. He was known to use real people as the models for his cartoons, and his female tennis players often bear a striking resemblance to Suzanne Lenglen (see Tom Webster). His cartoons often satirise social expectations with regard to femininity and fashion, and he defends the short skirt as a pragmatic dress choice for tennis by contrasting it with an array of ridiculous alternatives – from swaddling gowns to custom-made bare leg protectors.

William Haselden cartoon in two sections, the topmost one showing four female tennis players in short skirts, the bottom one showing the same players in long training skirts, in the manner of Kate Greenaway.

If dresses are to be worn longer. Daily Mirror (8 September 1921) – British Cartoon Archive, William Haselden WH3380

William Haselden cartoon ridiculing society's outrage at female tennis players' short skirts.

Bare legs at Wimbledon. Daily Mirror (31 May 1929) – British Cartoon Archive, William Haselden WH4320

Asides from tennis, it’s also interesting what Haselden’s cartoons can tell us about the history of women’s football.

Whilst testimonies exist about women joining in casual community football alongside men as early as the 15th century, the first recorded match (between England and Scotland) wasn’t until 1881. Women’s football really took off during WWI, in fact it was reported that every town in England developed a women’s team. Naturally, when professional football resumed for men’s teams when the war ended, women’s football experienced an increased ideological backlash and legal action was taken to prohibit women from taking part in organised matches. In 1921, the FA implemented a countrywide ban on women’s football, which wasn’t lifted for fifty years. It is this context which we need to bear in mind when viewing Haselden’s cartoons. On 14th November 1925, the Daily Mail published Haselden’s cartoon about how rugby is – and ought to be – played. In response to contemporary complaints that the game is too rough, Haselden suggests that efforts to make the sport more genteel would risk emasculating the players. If men should conduct themselves like women on the pitch, how ironic is it, then, that women should be banned from the pitch?

William Haselden cartoon in two sections, the topmost showing rugby players fighting, and the bottom one showing 'civilised' play.

How to play rugby. Daily Mirror (14 November 1925) – British Cartoon Archive, William Haselden WH2589

 

Richard Willson (1939-2011)

Known principally as a caricaturist, Richard Willson can be said to have started his career proper in 1968 when he was taken on by The Observer. He started working freelance for The Times in 1971, contributing striking profiles for its Business Diary. His career involved freelance work for a wide range of publications, so it is difficult to know precisely which magazine or newspaper these caricatures may have been intended for. Amongst his sets of 80s and 90s sports personalities, Willson has captured footballers Gary Lineker and Vinnie Jones, and tennis players Björn Borg and Martina Navratilova. His fine, cross-hatched style with big heads on small bodies shows the influence of the American caricaturist David Levine; the artworks here have been done in ink and acrylic, which testifies to the spread of colour printing in newspapers since the days of Webster and Haselden.

Richard Willson caricature of 80s sports personalities: Rob Andrew, Gary Lineker, Björn Borg, Martina Navratilova, Brian Lara and Damon Hill.

80s sports personalities (Rob Andrew, Gary Lineker, Björn Borg, Martina Navratilova, Brian Lara and Damon Hill) – British Cartoon Archive, Richard Willson RW0028

Richard Willson caricature of 90s sports personalities: Will Carling, Mike Tyson, Michael Schumacher, Jonah Lomu and Vinnie Jones.

90s sports personalities (Will Carling, Mike Tyson, Michael Schumacher, Jonah Lomu and Vinnie Jones) – British Cartoon Archive, Richard Willson RW0027

 

Ron McTrusty (1948-2021)

Whilst Ron McTrusty started his career in 1970 as a magazine designer for Women’s Own and Women’s World, his significance for the British Cartoon Archive lies in his caricatures, and a number of notable sports personalities appear across our collection. To conclude this post, I leave you with the great Sue Barker, Tim Henman, Ian Wright and Glenn Hoddle. Come along on Friday to see even more!

Ron McTrusty caricature of Sue Barker.

Sue Barker – British Cartoon Archive, Ron McTrusty RMT0026

Ron McTrusty caricature of Tim Henman.

Tim Henman – British Cartoon Archive, Ron McTrusty RMT0507

Ron McTrusty caricature of Ian Wright.

Ian Wright – British Cartoon Archive, Ron McTrusty RMT1063

Ian McTrusty caricature of Glenn Hoddle.

Glenn Hoddle – British Cartoon Archive, Ron McTrusty RMT0474

50/50 Exhibition – The 50 Selected Cartoons

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The 50/50 Project: Celebrating 50 Years of the British Cartoon Archive

In October 2023 we launched our new co-curated exhibition highlighting 50 cartoons representing 50 years of the British Cartoon Archive. The cartoons were selected and researched by a fabulous team of volunteers and we are extremely grateful to them for their participation in this project. So thank you to Angel Robson, Dr Balasubramanyam Chandramohan, Cameron Matthews, Elizabeth Grimshaw, Hannah Robson, Irene Szmelter, Nadia Davies, and Peter McCullen! 

The full list of the selected cartoons can be found here in this blog – but do remember to come and see the exhibition in person between October 2023 and February 2024!

The 50 cartoons selected represent the vast breadth of artists, subjects and formats found in the British Cartoon Archive. Together they provide a fascinating introduction to the history of cartooning and tell the stories of political events and people discovered by the volunteers throughout their research.  

Themes that emerged in the volunteer research included the history of cartoons, the beginnings of satire, the space race, political events and crises, strikes, the commonwealth, and the cartoons of Carl Giles.

Introduction Panels – Cartoons selected by the British Cartoon Archive staff 

  1. “Cartoon No 1: Substance and Shadow”, Punch, Or, The London Charivari, 1843. Reference: Punch, 15th July 1843

    Cartoon titled Cartoon No 1 Substance and Shadow showing a scene in an art gallery where a group of poor and ragged children and adults are looking at the opulent artworks on the walls which show portraits of people in more wealthy clothing

    Substance and Shadow, Cartoon No. 1, Punch Magazine, 15th July 1843.

  2. Rendezvous, David Low, Evening Standard, 20 September 1939. Reference: LSE2692

 

Satirical Ceramics in Late Georgian Britain and beyond ;The Emergence of Satirical Print; Historians start to take cartoons seriously

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Irene Szmelter:

  1. Pink jug with transfer-prints, Doctor Syntax drawing after nature; Doctor Syntax Disputing his Bill with the Landlady, c.1914-1930s. Reference: Doctor Syntax collection, [uncatalogued]  
  2. Plate with transfer-print, Doctor Syntax reading his tour, c.1920-1980s. Reference: Doctor Syntax collection, [uncatalogued]
    Ceramic plate on a plate stand showing an image of Dr Syntax, a character created by Thomas Rowlandson as a satire of William Gilpin, who was a supporter of the Picturesque movement. In the image Dr Syntax is reading his book to others in a tavern and they look bored and even asleep.

    Plate with transfer-print, Doctor Syntax reading his tour, c.1920-1980s. Reference: Dr Syntax collection, [uncatalogued]

  3. William Combe, The tour of Doctor Syntax, in search of the picturesque : a poem (5th edition, London, 1813) Reference: Derek Schartau Collection PR 3359.C5 
  4. Steve Bell, Fashionable Contrasts in Washington D.C (after James Gillray), 2017 Reference: Steve Bell Digital Collection SBD1772 
  5. Richard T. Godfrey, James Gillray: the art of caricature (London, 2001) Reference: British Cartoon Archive Library LRG NC 1479.G5 GOD
  6. Martin Rowson, The Contrast 2018 (after Thomas Rowlandson), 2018. Reference: Martin Rowson Digital Collection MRD1228 
  7. Dorothy George, English political caricature, 1793-1832 : a study of opinion and propaganda, 1959. Reference: British Cartoon Archive Library, NC 1763.P66 M 
  8. McCreery, The satirical gaze: prints of women in late eighteenth- century England, 2004. Reference: British Cartoon Archive Library NE962.W65

Strikes!

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Angel Robson:

Cartoon showing the door to Number 10, being opened by Boris Johnson holding an umbrella, with buckets of excrement balanced on the top and about to come down on his head. The buckets are labelled 'Inequality', 'Education' and 'NHS'. Keir Starmer is shown hiding just beyond the opening door and is pulling his mask down.

13: “Come on Everyone! Lockdown’s over and everything’s brilliant!” Martin Rowson Digital Collection, MRD 1634, Daily Mirror, 5th April 2021.

  1. Sidney Strube, – And we’re on our way, Daily Express, Undated. Reference: Sidney ‘George’ Strube Collection, Beaverbrook Foundation GS0070 
  2. Jonathon Pugh, “It’s not another eclipse. They’re our rubbish bags”, Daily Mail, 05 September 2017. Reference: Cuttings Collection 106199 
  3. Martin Rowson, [Lockdown’s over and everything’s brilliant], Daily Mirror, 05 April 2021. Reference: Martin Rowson Digital Collection MRD1634 
  4. Peter Brookes, Hoot if You Support Junior Doctors, The Times, 02 September 2016. Reference: Cuttings Collection 104446 
  5. Martin Rowson, [Boris tramples over workers], Daily Mirror, 08 March 2021. Reference: Martin Rowson Digital Collection MRD1622 
  6. Michael Cummings, “It’s the Silly Season and the Loch N.U.M. Monster arrives, as usual, on time!”, Sunday Express, 06 September 1987. Reference: Michael Cummings Collection, Beaverbrook Foundation CU1813 
  7. Deep Digs! Cartoons of the Miners’ Strike, (London, 1985). Reference: British Cartoon Archive Library NC 1763.S87 

 

Censorship and Saucy Postcards

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Nadia Davies: 

Typed card with a postcard stapled to it. The postcard shows a man with a large protruding stomach looking out across a beach. There is a lighthouse in the distance. There is a sandcastle on the sand in front of him, and a small boy ('Willy') sitting in a hole digging in the sand at his feet. He cannot see him over his stomach.

Postcard designed by Bob Wilkin, I wish I could see my little willy?, D E & S Ltd.

Typed card titled 'Proceedings' with hand written entries for several rows and columns. Reads - No 1 Date 3.12.52. Court Rhyl. Defendant 5. Result OD. DPP Ref 3290/52; No 2 Date 27.10.54. Court Margate. Defendant 5. Result OD. DPP Ref 3795/53; No 3 Date 27.4.54. Court Margate QS. Defendant 5. Result OD. DPP Ref 456/54; No 4 Date 15.11.57. Court Southwell. Defendant 5. Result NO. DPP Ref 3409/57.

Typed Card from the Crown Prosecution Service recording the prosecutions for obscene postcards that took place for the card on the reverse – I wish I could see my little willy. Prosecutions took place in Rhyl, Margate and Southwell.

  1. Donald McGill, A stick of rock, cock?, Constance Ltd, Undated. Reference: Crown Prosecution Service Collection CP/0363 
  2. What rosy cheeks you have my dear, Leslie Lester Ltd, Undated. Reference: Crown Prosecution Service Collection CP/0649 
  3. Have you got two big bouncy balls please?, Leslie Lester Ltd, Undated. Reference: Crown Prosecution Service Collection CP/0700 
  4. Bob Wilkin, I wish I could see my little willy?, E & S Ltd, Undated. Reference: Crown Prosecution Service Collection CP/0438  
  5. Dave Brown, Has anyone seen my little willy?, The Independent, 05 Oct 1999. Reference: Cuttings Collection 52292 

Political Events and Crises

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Hannah Robson: 

  1. Brian Adcock, “So you know the so-called “Special Relationship,” well you are gonna love this!”, The Independent, 6 November 2017. Reference: Brian Adcock Digital Collection BAD0485 
  2. Victor Weisz, “McCarthy is dead! Long live McCarthyism!”, Daily Mirror, 7 May 1957. Reference: Vicky [Victor Weisz] Collection, Beaverbrook Foundation VY0890 
  3. Michael Cummings, [no caption], Daily Express, 14 November 1986. Reference: Cuttings Collection 44500 
  4. Christian Adams, Signed in Blood, Daily Telegraph, 19 October 2015. Reference: Cuttings Collection 103278 
  5. Carl Giles, Daily Express Christmas card, c.1947. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/4/1/4/1 (GAC0098) 
Cartoon for a Christmas Card - of a newspaper seller, sitting near a London bus stop looking serious and downcast, with signs propped against a wall showing the headlines of the newspapers including: Evening Atom bomb latest Sunday Complete list of wars Daily Crime waves everywhere Sunday Taxes may be double Daily H bomb on the way Daily Merry Xmas to all our readers

Carl Giles, Daily Express Christmas card, c.1947. Reference – Carl Giles Trust Collection – CG/1/4/1/4/1 (GAC0098)

 

Viewing both England and the University of Kent through an Irish lens

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Peter McCullen: 

  1. Martin Rowson, Backwards, The Guardian, 25 May 2015. Reference: Martin Rowson Digital Collection MRD0654 
  2. Ben Jennings, [no caption], Independent, 01 March 2014. Reference: Ben Jennings Digital Collection BJD0121 
  3. Ben Jennings, [no caption], Independent, 01 March 2014. Reference: Ben Jennings Digital Collection BJD0200 
  4. Carl Giles, “Talking of cheque book journalism, do you think the editor would object to us taking that cab?”, Daily Express, 07 May 1981. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/1/1/3002 (GA4259)  
  5. Carl Giles, [no caption], Daily Express, 11 November 1958. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/1/1/3824 (GA5503) 
  6. Wally Fawkes, [no caption], Observer, 14 June 1987. Reference: Cuttings Collection 42646 
  7. Tove Jansson, Moomin and Snorkmaiden, Undated. Reference: Tove Jansson Collection TV0002 (Uncatalogued) 
Drawing of two moomins by Tove Janssen. Moomintroll is standing wearing a neck tie with moomins on it, facing Snorkmaiden who is looking and pointing at the tie.

Tove Jansson, Moomin and Snorkmaiden, Undated. Reference: Tove Jansson Collection TV0002 (Uncatalogued)

 

The Space Race 

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Elizabeth Grimshaw 

28. Michael Cummings, Increase of Fares Between London – Mars –Venus – Moon, Daily Express, 27 Jan 1953. Reference: Cummings Collection CU0522

36. Scott Clissold, “Got a spare ticket for the new Star Wars movie, mate?!”, Daily Star, 16 December 2015. Reference: Scott Clissold Digital Collection CLD0549

Colour cartoon of two aliens in a space ship talking to an astronaut on a space walk outside the International Space Station. One of the aliens speaks to the astronaut and says 'Got a spare ticket for the new Star Wars Movie, Mate?!' The astronaut looks confused.

Scott Clissold, “Got a spare ticket for the new Star Wars movie, mate?!”, Daily Star, 16 December 2015. Reference: Scott Clissold Digital Collection CLD0549

37. Osbert Lancaster, “Just think, Gretchen! Halfway to the moon! One day, perhaps, science will be able to tell us how to reach West Berlin!”, Daily Express, 14 Aug 1962. Reference: Cuttings Collection 02019

38. Carl Giles, “Be funny if the Moon Men thought she was an Earth Man and made her their ruler”, Daily Express, 05 Nov 1957. Reference: Carl Giles Trust collection CG/1/4/1/3/12/3 (GAA121419) 

The Commonwealth

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Dr Balasubramanyam Chandramohan:

  1. Margaret Belsky, “After all why shouldn’t the Queen protest – I expect she gets fed up with the rest of the Commonwealth criticising Britain all the time”, The Sun, 08 January 1969. Reference: Cuttings Collection 14577 
  2. Jak [Raymond Jackson], “Je demande que la Grande Bretagne soit chassee du Commonwealth si elle vend des armes a l’Afrique du sud”, Evening Standard, 20 October 1970. Reference: Cuttings Collection 18825 
  3. Michael Cummings , “Really, Mr. Stewart, it might come as a merciful release if Britain could be expelled from the Commonwealth”, Daily Express, 25 June 1965. Reference: Cuttings Collection 07292 
  4. Carl Giles, “And Rajah – be a good chap and control those long rumbling tummy noises during the Commonwealth speeches.”, Daily Express, 24 November 1983. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/1/1/3239 (GA4603) 
  5. Will Dyson, Our big brother and the little strangers, Daily Herald, Undated. Reference: Will Dyson Collection WD0597 

Will Dyson, Our big brother and the little strangers, Daily Herald, Undated. Reference: Will Dyson Collection WD0597

Ronald ‘Carl’ Giles

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Cam Matthews: 

44. Carl Ronald Giles, “An appeal has been made for every nurse to be off duty during the inquiry into the Nurses v. Hospital Authorities dispute in Guernsey.” Daily Express, 16th July 1957. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/1/1/973 (GA1328) 

45. Carl Ronald Giles, “We’ve been thinking about your parrot, Grandma. Supposing we can’t get a turkey for Christmas…” Daily Express, 25th November 1947. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/1/1/3787 (GA5454) 

46. Grandma Giles doll made by Dorothy Read, Undated. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/5/3/39 (GAX00058)  

Image of a doll of the character Grandma created by Carl Giles. Grandma is wearing a black hat with a blue trim, and a black dress. She carries a black handbag with a clasp, and an umbrella with a duck head handle, and is also wearing a brown fur stole.

Grandma Giles doll made by Dorothy Read, Undated. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/5/3/39 (GAX00058)

47. Carl Ronald Giles, “I’m jotting down a list of all the ones who aren’t laughing their heads off.” Daily Express, 17th February 1987. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/1/1/3532 (GA5027) 

48. Police Helmet, Undated. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/4/1/45 (GAX00085) 

49. Ink, paint and paintbrushes from Giles’ studio, Undated. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection (uncatalogued) 

50. Carl Ronald Giles, “Well, well, well, well, well! Man have they got your number!” Sunday Express, 1st March 1970. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/1/2/802 (GA2779) 

Cartooning Covid-19 – call for volunteer participants

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About the project 

Nicholas Newman, The Sunday Times, 01 Mar 2020. ©
Nick Newman (ref: 109242)

‘Cartooning Covid-19’ will be a 10-week volunteering project which aims to make available cartoons published in national papers during the Covid 19 pandemic between March and December 2020. Through cataloguing these cartoons, we ensure that this important period in recent history is captured in the cartoon catalogue of the British Cartoon Archive for use in learning, teaching and research.

The British Cartoon Archive collects the cartoons published each week in national newspapers (The Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, The Guardian and The Independent). This encapsulates work by artists such as Bob Moran, Nicholas Newman, Peter Schrank, Morten Morland, Peter Brookes and more. 

 

To participate in this project please email cartoons@kent.ac.uk. 

Practicalities 

The project will be carried out using a hybrid model of in-person group sessions and remote virtual cataloguing. However, this opportunity is open to all, so if you do not live locally to Canterbury, you are welcome to join as a fully remote participant. Similarly, if you would prefer to participate in person only, that’s ok too. 

Volunteers will be provided with full training as part of the project, including sessions from the archive team about the BCA and the work they carry out to preserve it and make it available, and they will be given access to library resources where possible, such as newspaper archives and both physical and digital cartoon collections. 

Volunteers will be given a set of cartoons published between March and December 2020, which they will be asked to catalogue by listing details about the cartoons into a spreadsheet with supervision from the Special Collections and Archives team. At the end of the project the resulting spreadsheets of data will be uploaded to the British Cartoon Archive catalogue alongside digital cartoon copies, making these resources available to the public.  

Special Collections and Archives will provide refreshments at in-person events (lunch will not be provided). 

Michael Heath, The Mail on sunday, 05 April 2020. ©Associated Newspapers Ltd. (ref: 109333)

Schedule 

  • In-person sessions will be held fortnightly on Tuesdays from 3rd October through to 5th December 2023 (10 weeks). Sessions will run from 10:30-16:00 with an hour break for lunch. For online only participants, you would be invited to attend the welcome day sessions virtually on Tuesday October 3rd, after which you will be provided with digital copies to describe and catalogue. 
  • Optional online drop-in sessions will be scheduled virtually (via Microsoft Teams) for one hour every other week from Thursday 12th October. These sessions will enable Special Collections and Archives to provide virtual support for volunteers between in-person sessions, while also providing an opportunity for socialising and peer support. 
  • Volunteers are encouraged to participate remotely between in-person sessions. Resources will be made available online through Google Drive.   

Requirements 

There are no specific prerequisites for participating volunteers, however this project will likely suit those with an interest in political satire, art and graphic design, UK politics, or those wishing to learn more about archives.  

Volunteers should be comfortable with using websites and online catalogues, and in using spreadsheets. 

A laptop will be needed for participation during in-person sessions.  These can be supplied by Special Collections and Archives on request, but numbers are very limited so please indicate in advance if this is required. Volunteers are encouraged to provide their own devices where available.  

For remote participation, volunteers will need to have their own laptop or personal computer with internet connection, as well as access to a Google account.  

To participate in this project please email cartoons@kent.ac.uk. 

Morten Morland, The Times 27 April 2020. ©News UK (ref: 109373)

An intern’s experience: Jenni-Rose Nicholl

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We were lucky enough to work with student Jenni during her internship from March to April 2023, as part of her Classical & Archaeological Studies course at the University of Kent.

Jenni worked on a variety of collections during her time with us, including the Colin Seymour-Ure and Holt Bairnsfather collections in the British Cartoon Archive, the Papers of the Shirley Foundation collection in the UK Philanthropy Archive, and the Max Tyler Music Hall collection. She also assisted us with facilitating seminars and school visits. Jenni writes about her experience below.

Objects from the Holt Bairnsfather collection being sorted and packaged in our workroom.

An internship is designed in its nature to provide the intern with real-world experience in the relevant field of work they are completing their study in. Having recently completed my internship with the University of Kent’s archive team, it can safely be said that I have gained a tremendous amount of experience and hands-on professional context in which to take my degree further.

From my first day being shown around the archives by the incredibly knowledgeable Clair Waller, my mind was blown by the sheer amount of work and effort that our incredible archivists do every single day in order to keep the University archives, alongside the British Cartoon archive, up to date and relevant for today’s scholars and students alike. By far my personal favourite part of the internship was cleaning the books given to the archives team from individual’s personal collections [ed – the Colin Seymour-Ure collection], being carefully instructed as to the care and management of dirty and weak covers and how to prevent the books from deteriorating further.

A portrait of Professor-Colin-Seymour-Ure

Professor-Colin-Seymour-Ure

Whilst partaking in my internship I was regularly using a scanner and uploading photos in an organised manner onto the computer, something a self-confessed technophobe such as myself found greatly beneficial for future employment as well as daily life. A career in archaeology would not be such without numerous types of paperwork in which listing remains crucial.

A photograph of Dame Stephanie Shirley standing in front of a large promotional sign at the 2019 Linkedin Summit, Talent Connect On Tour.

Dame Stephanie Shirley at the February 2019 Linkedin Summit. Papers of the Shirley Foundation.

Through my internship I was instructed in the use of listing sheets and how to correctly fill them out directly benefiting my future prospects in the archaeological field. My internship has greatly grown my confidence in a professional environment and with the instruction of Clair Waller, Beth Astridge and Karen Brayshaw, I have gained invaluable experience and fond memories for my future career.

A photogrpah of Jenni's hand holding a book that has been laid between boards and wrapped with cotton tying tape.

An example of a book Jenni cleaned before applying a bit of collections care by wrapping the book between boards using cotton tying tape. This helps to preserve the book, providing support to otherwise fragile or damaged bindings.

 

 

 

Wally ‘Trog’ Fawkes (1924-2023)

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We were very saddened to hear of the death of Wally Fawkes last week, who passed away at the age of 98 on Wednesday 1st March 2023. Fawkes (also known by his pen-name ‘Trog’) was a revered cartoonist and illustrator with a talent for caricature and an instantly recognisable style. Johanna Fawkes said of her father, “He was warm, funny and thoughtful. Everybody adored him”.

Wally Fawkes

Walter (“Wally”) Ernest Fawkes was born in Vancouver, Canada on 21 June 1924. He moved to England with his mother, siblings, and stepfather in 1931. He loved comics from a young age and from the age of 14 studied at Sidcup Art School for a short time before the outbreak of war in 1939. During the war, Wally worked at Woolwich docks, painting camouflage on factory roofs in an effort to protect them from bombing. This effort was not rewarded as the docks were flattened during the blitz in 1940. Wally did not serve in the war due to a bout of pleurisy, instead working for the Coal Commission tracing maps.

 

Fawkes’ artistic talent was discovered in 1942 after he took part in an art competition at work that was judged by the Daily Mail’s political cartoonist, Leslie Illingworth. Illingworth was impressed and got him a job drawing for the Clement Davies advertising agency. Then in June 1945 on Fawkes’ twenty-first birthday Illingworth found him a job at the Daily Mail, where he was tasked with creating decorative illustrations and column breakers.

A photograph of Fawkes at his drawing desk

Fawkes married journalist Sandy Boyce-Carmichelle in 1949, with whom he went on to have four children, Johanna, Kate, Sarah and Jamie. Sadly, Sarah passed away at a young age. Wally and Sandy were divorced in 1964, but Wally found love again with Susan Clifford, who he married and had two more children with, Lucy and Daniel.

In 1949, the Daily Mail’s owner, Lord Rothermere, asked Fawkes to illustrate a cartoon strip, ‘Flook’. Originally created by Douglas Mount in 1949, the strip ran for 35 years in the Daily Mail before moving to the Mirror in 1984, and featured many writers throughout its lifetime.

FO0025, [No caption], Daily Mail, 25 Apr 1949. ©Associated Newspapers Ltd. / Solo Syndication

The name of the strip was originally named after its redheaded character ‘Rufus’, but this was quickly changed to ‘Rufus and Flook’, before finally becoming known as simply ‘Flook’. By the early 1950s, the strip was one of the Daily Mail’s most popular features, and was syndicated to the United States and New Zealand.

A Flook model hiding in the archives

When the news broke that Fawkes was leaving the Daily Mail in 1984, the Daily Mirror signed him up, with Flook transferring to them in that October. They announced the transfer with the following cartoon:

38393, [No caption], Daily Mirror, 19 Nov 1984. ©Mirrorpix

An accomplished clarinet player, the pen name ‘Trog’ comes from one of Fawkes’ early jazz bands, ‘The Troglodytes’. Fawkes went on to play in the ‘George Webb Dixielanders’ with trumpet player and fellow cartoonist Humphrey Lyttleton in 1944. Later they co-founded ‘Humphrey Lyttleton and His Band’ in the late 1940s. Fawkes left Lyttelton’s band in 1956, but continued to play with various groups throughout his life. In the late 1950s he established a jazz club night at the Six Bells, Chelsea with fellow musician Jim Goldbolt that became known as ‘Trog’s Club’.

When Illingworth retired in 1969, Fawkes took his position as political cartoonist at the Daily Mail. However, this position did not last long, with Fawkes being replaced with Stan ‘Mac’ McMurtry in 1971 when David English took control of the paper. During his career, Fawkes drew for many publications, notably the Observer and Punch, but also the Spectator, New Statesman, Sunday Telegraph, Today, London Daily News, and Private Eye.

WF0113, [No caption], Sunday Telegraph. ©Telegraph Media Group Ltd

Fawkes was one of the founding members of the British Cartoonists’ Association, established in 1966, alongside Kenneth Mahood and John Jensen. He was twice the winner of Granada TV’s ‘What the Papers Say’ Cartoonist of the Year Award, the US Cartoonists’ and Writers’ Syndicate World Award 1976, International Political Cartoonist of the Year (1976), CCGB Humorous Strip Cartoonist of the Year (1981), CAT Caricaturist of the Year (1997) and the CAT Lifetime Achievement Award (1997). In 2001, Fawkes received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Kent.

Fawkes retired from cartooning in 2005 at 81 as his sight began to fail, after 62 years in the business. His work continues to be popular today; the Cartoon Museum in London held an exhibition of his work in 2013, and the University of Kent’s British Cartoon Archive continue to make his work available to researchers, students and enthusiasts alike. His work was admired not only by the public, but also by his contemporaries.

“…there is an astonishingly sharp focus…particularly in the caricature, which makes the characters seem larger than life, as if seen under a brilliant light and a powerful lens…his blacks seeem to be blacker than black” Raymond Briggs[1]

“Very few artists can see a likeness the way he can, and catch it so completely. He doesn’t develop a hieroglyph for each politician and then simply reach for it each time it is needed. Every Trog caricature is carefully recrafted.” Nicholas Garland[2]

Wally by Flook, Daily Mirror, 16 Nov 1984. ©Mirrorpix

The British Cartoon Archive’s Fawkes Collection includes almost 3500 original artworks, 6600 original Flook strips, over 5000 cuttings and even one of the orange plastic squeaky Flook toys marketed by the Daily Mail. For a full biography, please see https://www.cartoons.ac.uk/cartoonist-biographies/s-t/WallyFawkes_Trog.html.

 

[1] Trog : Forty Graphic Years – the art of Wally Fawkes (introduction and commentary by Frank Whitford; foreword by Raymond Briggs), London: Fourth Estate, 1987, 191pp.

[2] Nicholas Garland “Undimmed, inimitable Trog”, Sunday Telegraph, 20 June 2004, Review p.7.