Ladybird By Design Exhibition Comes To London

By John Freeman on June 30, 2015

An image from The Story of Flight by Robert Ayton. © Ladybird Books Ltd, 1960 Reproduced by permission of Ladybird Books Ltd.

London’s House of Illustration’s summer exhibition will feature over 120 original illustrations from classic Ladybird titles, in celebration of 100 years of Ladybird Books.

Specially commissioned illustrations, clever format and compelling design, combined with the quality of the writing, were key to the success of the Ladybird books.

Unparalleled in their perfectly observed attention to detail and unique sense of place, the books demonstrate the power of illustration to open up the world to children and their parents, grandparents and teachers alike.

Ladybird’s full-colour, full-page illustrations were commissioned from well-known illustrators such as Charles Tunnicliffe (What To Look For titles, series 536), Harry Wingfield (Shopping with Mother, series 563, and Key Words, series 641), Martin Aitchison (Key Words titles), Eric Winter and Robert Lumley (Well-loved Tales, series 606d), John Berry (People at Work, series 606b) and Robert Ayton (Great Inventions and The Story of Oil, series 601).

Ladybird by Design features iconic images from Ladybird series including People At Work, Shopping With Mother, Science, Nature, Well Loved Tales and Key Words, as well as rare photographs and correspondence.

The exhibition is generously supported by Cate Olson and Nash Robbins.

• Ladybird by Design: An exhibition of over 120 original illustrations from Ladybird Books 10th July to 27th September 2015, 10.00am – 6.00pm, The House of Illustration 2 Granary Square, King’s Cross, London N1C 4BH More info: www.houseofillustration.org.uk/whats-on/whats-on/ladybird-by-design

• In addition to the exhibition, Guardian Members are invited to an exclusive private view of the exhibition during its opening week. Enjoy a wine reception with other Members and Guardian staff before House of Illustration director Colin McKenzie and exhibition co-curators Professor Lawrence Zeegen and Jane Won talk through the collection. Find out more and buy tickets from the newspaper’s web site here

John Freeman

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.