The Wonderful World of the Ladybird Book Artists

I had the privilege of visiting The Wonderful World of the Ladybird Book Artists at Victoria Art Gallery in Bath, which exhibits a fabulous display of books and original artwork from Ladybird’s ‘Golden Years’ between 1940 and 1975. Embarking upon a journey that illustrated the origins of the famously beautiful board books that are iconic in size (we will talk more about the reason for this later), feel and appearance, the exhibition takes you from Bunnikin’s Picnic Party right through to the fairy tales we know and love.

What I loved most about the exhibition was that entire families, generations apart, could reminisce and enjoy what was on display. Somehow these books connect us all, even children reading them for the first time now. Laid out in a single room, there was a lovely mix of books to sit and read in designated spaces, artwork to look at, costumes to dress up in, and the opportunity to design a Ladybird book cover (for children) and to write your memories of Ladybird books (for older children and adults).

It was fascinating to learn that the Ladybird story began with a printing business called Wills and Hepworth in Loughborough. In the early 1900s, printing and bookbinding was not the company’s only business, selling everything from artists’ materials to “fancy goods and ladies’ handbags”.

Along came the First World War, affecting the core trade of the business and forcing diversification. I always maintain that hardship is the greatest innovator. It forces resilience and creative thinking, and, often, a change of direction. The company began to publish affordable children’s books to keep the business ticking over. These books were large, and crudely printed on cheap paper, created with no plan other than to keep the business moving.

In 1940 Wills & Hepworth launched the first classic Ladybird: Bunnikin’s Picnic Party, illustrated (and originally written) by Angusine Macgregor. What was truly pioneering about the new format for this book was that a complete mini book could be created using just one sheet of paper, and this became the format for the Ladybird book for the next 40 years. The books were incredibly successful, as we now know.

In the 1940s the books were aimed at pre-school children, made up of fiction and rhymes. In the 1950s the company decided to diversify, covering a much wider breadth of subjects for a range of age groups, and particularly for the education market. The first focus was nature, with the first title being British Birds And Their Nests. Douglas Keen spearheaded this move towards a wider market, and Ladybird chose highly regarded artists such as C F Tunnicliffe and S R Badim, with writers including Vesey-Fitzgerald who were experts in their field. This was to ensure a consistently high level of quality across all titles.

“Books such as Our Land in the Making showed how fast the landscape of Britain was changing in the post-war era, as rail travel began to lose its dominance and the road network and suburban life expanded. Road and rail continued to provide extra work for many of the Ladybird artists, illustrating railway posters, carriage prints, and advertisements for petrol, such as the Shell Guides. Today, the Ladybird nature books help provide a snapshot of Britain’s ecology, farming practices and wildlife over the second half of the 20th Century”.

It was lovely to see so many books on display, and the quality of the original artwork was exceptional, with vibrant colours and incredible detail in the pictures. Many of the images were based on photographs for inspiration, but of course a lot of these photos were black and white.

I also enjoyed looking at the wall of future illustrators, where children were invited to design their own book cover. With some lovely ideas ranging from fairies to animal tales, they were mostly delightful, with the odd, slightly macabre exception!

I thoroughly recommend a visit to the exhibition, and you wouldn’t need more than an hour to do so.