"Through The Garden Gate" by Susan Hill, illustrated by Angela Barrett (published by Hamish Hamilton Ltd, London 1986)

 

 

"The Great Race" by Nathan Kumar Scott, Art by Jagdish Chitara (published by Tara Publishing Ltd., UK, 2011), Part 2

 

This is not an old book but a great one nevertheless. I bought it only last month, impressed with the exceptional quality of the pictures as well as the impeccable design and layout on every page. I've been aware of Tara Publications (http://www.tarabooks.com/tara-uk/ ) for some time now but I hadn't realised how good their books were in the flesh.

 

According to the introduction in the book, this is  "an Indonesian trickster tale" retold by Nathan Kumar Scott. The beautiful pictures are by Jugdish Chitara, a Waghari textile artist from Ahmedabad, using traditional painting techniques on cloth. There is an interesting section on the artist's background and work at the end of the book.

"The Great Race" by Nathan Kumar Scott, Art by Jagdish Chitara (published by Tara Publishing Ltd., UK, 2011)

 

 

"For Whom The Cloche Tolls" - A Scrap-Book Of The Twenties by Angus Wilson and Philippe Jullian (published by Methuen, London 1953) - Part 3

 

I tried to scan some details from the drawings in this book to show the weird expressions on their faces! These characters live in a strange party world of their own, where anything goes... The picture in colour is from the back cover.

                                

 

"For Whom The Cloche Tolls" - A Scrap-Book Of The Twenties by Angus Wilson and Philippe Jullian (published by Methuen, London 1953) - Part 2

 

Another brilliant example of French illustration from the 1950's, by Philippe Jullian (1921-1977). There are illustrations in every page of this book enveloping the text, enhancing its witty and bizarre stories. The artist's line work is playful and at times fragile but when you look closely it depicts the costumes, hairstyles and faces in some detail. Going through each page you end up spending more time admiring each character than reading the text - and there are hundreds of them! I came across this extensive article on Philippe Jullian (on John Coulthart's amazing blog) which gives a good insight on his character and work: http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2010/12/13/philippe-jullian-connoisseur-of-the-exotic/

 

 

 

"For Whom The Cloche Tolls" - A Scrap-Book Of The Twenties by Angus Wilson and Philippe Jullian (published by Methuen, London 1953)

 

 

"Splosh!" By Philippe Corentin (published by Andersen Press, London 2002) - Part 2

 

I was a little annoyed that there isn't much information to be found on the Internet about Philippe Corentin (born in Paris, 1936) - I suspect there will be plenty in French as he is renowned for his cartoons and humorous children's books since the late sixties. The original title in French was "Plouf!"  (which sounds a lot funnier than splosh to me!), published in 1991. The style in unlike any other you'll come across. It reminds me a bit of children's book illustrations from the 30's and 40's but the colours and technique are bright and contemporary. Here's a link of the only biography I could find on the author (not much I'm afraid): http://www.answers.com/topic/philippe-corentin