"The Floating Jungle", written and illustrated by John Ryan (Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd, London 1981)

I was really chuffed to discover this vintage John Ryan book from 1981 in our local second hand bookshop a few weeks ago. It could even be a first edition. Ryan (1921-2009) will always be remembered, of course, for the creation of the legendary Captain Pugwash, a lovable but incompetent pirate featured in many cartoons, children's books and animations. He produced the Pugwash stories originally as comic-strips in from 1957 for the BBC's Radio Times magazine. He was then asked to animate his stories for television, a collaboration that lasted for decades. Here's a link for the 2009 BBC obituary http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8166946.stm
I'll try to post links to some other websites for John Ryan in the near future.

Mr Noah's son, Ham (above), looks like he could be related to Captain Pugwash - without the moustache and beard...

More book Jacket illustrations by Paul Hogarth (part 3)

Hogarth's extra-ordinary and mysterious work complements and distinguishes these novels. If you look closely, the brush strokes are so loosely and effortlessly put together that appear to be almost abstract - yet they portray the characters so masterfully. This book was first published by Faber and Faber Ltd, London 1980.

Faber and Faber Ltd, London 1989.

Faber and Faber Ltd, London 1967

More book jacket illustrations by Paul Hogarth

All three of these illustrations were produced for the Penguin Books editions of the Graham Green novels in the early seventies. There are plenty of Hogarth's illustrations presented on Dr Chris Mullen's excellent website, including pictures from Brendan Behan's "New York"(1964): http://www.fulltable.com/VTS/aoi/h/hogarthp/menun.htm

"Brighton Rock", Graham Green, Cover illustration by Paul Hogarth (Penguin Books, 1981)

Paul Hogarth(1917-2001), one of the greatest British illustrators of the 20th century illustrated a number of Graham Green book jackets of which I've got four. Contemporary of Ronald Searle - and a close friend to him - he was inspired by his various journeys around the world as well as the great writers he befriended. Among them were Doris Lessing, Brendan Behan, Stephen Spender, Lawrence Durrell, Robert Graves and William Golding. His drawing are minimalistic but evoke the dark side of the characters and the mood of the book quite brilliantly. Here's a link for his obituary in The Independent from January 2002: http://www.hogarth.org.uk/resource/obits/paul2002.htm

"It must be true - it was all in the papers" - A tribute to Ronald Searle

This 1952 book was featured on this blog two years ago (http://picturesfromanoldbook.blogspot.com/2010/03/it-must-be-true-it-was-all-in-papers.html ). I thought I'd post some of these images again in tribute to the great artist who passed the way a couple of days ago in France at the age of 91. For more information on his life and great career, here are the obituaries in yesterday's Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ronald-searle-illustrator-and-cartoonist-who-created-the-anarchic-world-of-st-trinians-6284479.html and the Daily Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/art-obituaries/8989894/Ronald-Searle.html