Well that was a bit of a longer than planned break from Ladybird Tuesday – sorry! There’s been no decrease in the Ladybird hunting activity here, but school summer holidays have got a bit in the way of writing about Ladybird books over the last month or so.
But as September and the autumn arrives Ladybird Tuesday is back, and restarting with a bit of a different one. I had one of those getting older life events back in July and to mark it Mr C and I had a rare child-free day together in London. Over the years I’ve learnt that if there’s something you really want to do, rather than dropping lots of subtle hints it’s sometimes just easier and quicker to sort it out yourself and so I did just that by booking tickets to the amazing Ladybird by Design exhibition that was being held at the House of Illustration in London’s Kings Cross.
Now, earlier in the year I featured the book Ladybird by Design here on Ladybird Tuesday and this book is indeed the inspiration behind this wonderful touring exhibition that came to London after a hugely successful run at the De La Warr Pavillion. A few friends had seen the exhibition down at Bexhill on Sea and I was gutted when I realised I couldn’t get down there to see it before it finished. Hearing it was coming to London made me actually squeal with excitement.
The exhibition features over 120 original Ladybird illustrations and I was in absolute Ladybird heaven when I went. As regular readers will know I am a huge Ladybird fan and to me the quality of the artwork is one of the biggest draws of Ladybird books. Seeing the original artwork up close only reinforced to me just how amazing these little books are. The quality and detail of each and every illustration was just breathtaking and even Mr C (who regularly disapproves at my Ladybird collecting) was suitably impressed with what he saw.
For me, seeing up close the original illustrations for Shopping with Mother and some of the People at Work titles was mind-blowing. I found myself going back to the same pictures again and again and marvelling over how much work had gone into them.
If you’re a Ladybird fan then Ladybird by Design will be at the House of Illustration until 27 September 2015. Full details are available on their website. Just be careful in the gift shop – it is absolutely packed with wonderful Ladybird products, ranging from original vintage books through to some wonderful prints, one of which will be displayed in my hall just as soon as I get round to buying a frame of the right size!
Disclaimer: Just in case you’re in any doubt, I bought my own tickets to the Ladybird by Design exhibition and have received no payment for this post. I would however thoroughly recommend the exhibition to any Ladybird fan.
Leave a Reply