Plugging into humans’ innate desire to collect things, Bancroft Tiddlers was a series of pocket-size books published in the 1960s, spanning over 40-plus separate titles and covering a wide range of subjects. However, until recently, I hadn’t spotted that at least one comic artist, Jon Davis, who drew strips for TV21 and Countdown, was one of the illustrators who worked on the series – and so was Doctor Who artist Walt Howarth and Eagle‘s Desmond Walduck.
Launched in 1965, Jon’s son Ethan alerted me to Jon’s involvement, discovering he had illustrated “Heroes of the Wild West” (Book 19), and I’ve since located “Pirates” (Book 29) and “Spies” (Book 44).
Other artists involved included Walter Howarth (best known, perhaps, for his work on the Doctor Who annuals), EAGLE artist Desmond Walduck, and Gordon C. Davies, who Steve Holland notes over on Bear Alley was a prolific book cover artist from the 1950s to the 1980s, most notably on a great many science fiction books as he was a very good artist of technology, from trains and planes to spaceships, and military subjects which included hardware.
Bancroft, later part of Purnell & Sons by the time later books in the range were released in 1969, published a wide range of titles from its London offices, including children’s classics such as Alice in Wonderland and cut-out model books.
I remember collecting some of these as a kid. The first 12 books, released in 1965, do not include either writer or artist credits and later ones just the artist, so if anyone has further information, please do let us know!
You can find most Bancroft Tiddlers on eBay (one seller has plenty on offer, in particular) nd secondhand bookshop sites, some priced more reasonably than others. Each book measures just 8.5cm x 6cm so they are often sought after by cigarette card collectors, too.
The credits listed below are either from copies of the books or photographs of items offered for sale on eBay or secondhand
1 National Costumes
Writer: Uncredited Artist: Uncredited (1865)
2 Wild Flowers
Writer: Uncredited Artist: Uncredited (1965)
3 Famous Battles
Writer: Uncredited Artist: Uncredited (1965)
4 Famous Explorers
Writer: Uncredited Artist: Uncredited (1965)
5 Sports Cars
Writer: Unknown Artist: Unknown (1965)
6 Giants of Sport I
Writer: Uncredited Artist: Uncredited – Walter Howarth illustrated Giants of Sport II (1965)
• The Football Cartophilic Info Exchange has details pf the sports personalities featured in this title here
7 Tropical Birds
Writer: Uncredited Artist: Uncredited (1965)
8 Rare Animals
Writer: Uncredited Artist: Uncredited (1965)
9 Inventors and Scientists
Writer: Uncredited Artist: Uncredited (1965)
10 Passenger Planes
Writer: Uncredited Artist: Uncredited (1965)
11 Famous Bridges
Writer: Uncredited Artist: Uncredited (1965)
12 Railway Engines
Writer: Uncredited Artist: Uncredited (19655)
13 Freaks of Nature
Writer: Unknown Artist: Unknown (1966)
14 How a Ship is Built
By George Tuckwell (1966)
15 Soldiers
By Eric Kincaid (1966)
16 Beetles
By David Cook (1966)
17 Nations at War: Rome and Carthage
Writer: Brian Innes Artist: Michael Whittlesea (1966)
Writer, artist and editor. Brian Innes, who died in 2014, was a production consultant at Bancroft in the 1960s. He also owned the book production company Immediate Books and was the former percussionist of surrealistic 1960s band The Temperance Seven. Over a long career in publishing his credits include art director of the part work, Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of the Supernatural, published by Purnell in the 1970s. He is perhaps best known for his work as a crime writer.
There’s a guide to his career here on Encyclopedia.com and an obituary here on The Guardian web site | Brian Innes works available on AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
18 Life under the Sea
By Ian Gerrard (1966)
19 Heroes of the Wild West
Writer: Brian Innes Artist: Jon Davis (1966)
• Read our tribute to artist Jon Davis MBE, who died in 2020
20 Pistols
By Trevor Parkin (1966)
21 Famous Castles
By Peter Morter (1966)
Peter’s many art credits include illustrations for The English Country House in Perspective by Gervase Jackson-Stops
22 Giants of Sport II
By Walter Howarth (1966)
• The Football Cartophilic Info Exchange has details pf the sports personalities featured in this title here
Walt Howarth, long-time illustrator of annuals and covers for World Distributors Ltd., died on Thursday 13th March 2008, aged of 80. Steve Holland has a tribute here on Bear Alley. “Howarth’s ability to capture a likeness meant that he became WDL’s leading artist,” Steve notes, “producing covers for most of their annuals; as these were primarily westerns and Howarth was keen to make them as authentic as possible, he became something of an expert on costumes, weapons and other aspects of the wild west.”
23 Balloons & Airships
By John Watson (1966)
24 Famous Motor Races
By Michael Whittlesea (1966)
Born in London in 1938, Michael Whittlesea also worked on Look and Learn magazine. He is, today, a professional artist, online at www.michael-whittlesea.co.uk
25 Famous Churches
Writer: Pippa King Artist: Desmond Walduck (1966?)
Desmond Eric Walduck (1920 – 1995) was a Islington-born freelance artist perhaps best known for his work on “Dan Dare” for Eagle, joining the team in the early 1950s. His major task was finishing the artwork of other artists, most notably Frank Hampson. He also worked on some episodes himself, such as the end of “Operation Saturn” in 1954 and the complete episode “Prisoners of Space” in 1955-56. He also drew “Sammy in Space”, with Bruce Cornwell, for Swift, “Red Devil Dean” (1955-56) for Express Weekly, and “Slaves of War Orphan Farm” (1971) for Tammy.
26 Beautiful Butterflies
By Ian Gerrard (1967)
27 Famous Craftsmen
Writer: Neil Powell Artist: Trevor Parkin (1967)
Neil Powell is a nom de plume of Brian Innes, whose career as a writer is noted above
28 Prehistoric Animals
Writer: Unknown Artist: Unknown (1966)
29 Pirates
Writer: Brian Innes Artist: Jon Davis (No Publication Date)
• Read our tribute to artist Jon Davis MBE, who died in 2020
30 Veteran Cars
Writer: Unknown Artist: Unknown (1966?)
31 Nations at War: American Civil War
Writer: Brian Innes Artist: Michael Whittlesea (1967)
32 Sailing Ships
Writer: Frank Smyth Artist: Peter Griffin (1967)
33 Musical Instruments
Writer: Brian Innes Artist: Ian Gerard (1967)
34 Birds of Prey
Writer: Unknown Artist: Unknown (1967)
35 Secrets of Space
By Gordon C. Davies (1967)
• Steve Holland has a checklist of some of Gordon’s credits here on Bear Alley
36 Oil
By John Watson (1967)
37 Money
By George Tuckwell (1969)
38 How a Car is Made
By Peter Morter? (1969)
39 Famous Palaces
Writer: Alan Blackwood Artist: John Ross (1969)
40 Nations at War (The Crusades)
Writer: Geoffrey Watson Artist: Michael Whittlesea (1969)
41 Reptiles
By Denys Ovenden (1969)
42 Famous Generals
Writer: Unknown Artist: Unknown (1969)
43 Prehistoric Men
Writer: Unknown Artist: Unknown (1969)
44 Spies
Writer: Brian Innes Artist: Jon Davis (1969)
• Read our tribute to artist Jon Davis MBE, who died in 2020
45 Famous Fighter Planes
By Gordon C. Davies (1969)
• Steve Holland has a checklist of some of Gordon’s credits here on Bear Alley
46 Famous Clocks
Writer: BJ Wilson Artist: Trevor Parkin (1969)
47 Big Cats
By Denys Ovenden (1969)
48 History of Fashion
Writer: Unknown Artist: Unknown (1969?)
The credits listed here are either from copies of the books or photographs of items offered for sale on eBay or secondhand. Additional information is welcomed
With thanks to Ethan Davis
- About the Author
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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: Art and Illustration, Books, downthetubes News, Other Worlds
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