The Ladybird Big Book of Motor Cars Exhibition is currently on at the Heritage Motor Centre near Warwick. This exhibition includes over 120 Ladybird books plus more than 30 original pieces of Ladybird artwork alongside many of the vehicles which feature in them. The vehicles on display include a 1886 Rover bicycle, a 1904 Wolseley, a 1967 Austin 1100, a 1936 MG and a 1971 Rover P5.
The traditional small hardback Ladybird books were first published by Wills & Hepworth in 1940 and their standard format of text on the left page coupled with fully painted artwork on the right page of a two page spread, made them popular with adults and children alike.
Many artists familiar to British comics readers of the 1950s and 1960s worked on Ladybird books during this period making them desirable items for comics collectors to have. Perhaps the most desirable Ladybird titles for British comics collectors are those that were illustrated by Dan Dare creator Frank Hampson which include Kings and Queens of England and three of the Nursery Rhymes books.
The Ladybird Big Book of Motor Cars exhibition began on the 17 September 2011 and runs to 15 January 2012 at the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon which is near Junction 12 of the M40. There are more details of the exhibition on the Heritage Motor Centre website.
There are more details of the traditional style Ladybird books at the Vintage Ladybird website.
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Exhibitions
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