'Douglas's men crawl to the castle'

'Douglas's men crawl to the castle', an illustration by JVL in Epics of the Middle Ages, 

The Folio Society, 2005

'Mortgage worrying'

 'Mortgage worrying', a drawing by JVL in a diary of  1985

Most of the written entries include a number of fables by Aphra Behn from a book published in 1687

'The Sick Kite'

'The Sick Kite', an illustration by JVL in Aesop's Fables, Jonathan Cape, 1989

The illustration shows Ditchling Church surrounded by trees, most of which were blown down in the storm of 1987. On the right can be seen a half-timbered building known as 'Wing's Place' in West Street. Here is the text of the fable, as told by Samuel Croxall in his celebrated book - Fables of Aesop and Others published in 1722.

A Kite had been sick a long time; and finding there was no Hopes of his Recovery, beg’d of his Mother to go to all the Churches, to try what Prayers and Promises would effect in his behalf. The old Kite replied, Indeed, dear Son, I would willingly undertake anything to save your Life; but I have great reason to despair of you doing any Service in the Way you propose: For, with what Face can I ask any thing of the Gods in Favour of one, whose whole Life has been a continued Scene of Rapine and Injustice, and, who has not scrupled, upon Occasion, to rob the very Altars themselves?

Moral: Little pity is shown to sickly penitents when they have lived the life of a thief.

Text: Samuel Croxall (Fable 29, 1722).

Selected Parallels: Babrius 78. Caxton (Romulus) 1/19. L’Estrange 17. Chambry 168. Perry 324.

sprout and banana

A sprout and a banana, a drawing by JVL, done in SR Badmin's drawing class 

at the Central School of Art and Design in 1960.

Two chests filled with sand

'Two chests filled with sand', an illustration by JVL for a chapter about 'El Cid' 

in Epics of the Middle Ages, Folio Society, 2005.

The location for this illustration was an area in the cathedral at Trani in Apulia, Italy.

A cake mixing machine

A cake mixing machine, a drawing by JVL in a student sketchbook around 1957.

This was a machine in my father's bakery and confectionery shop, known as 'Lord's Café' in Glossop.

The Snark Hunters' Vessel in full sail

The Snark Hunters' Vessel in full sail, an illustration by JVL in The Hunting of the Snark, 

by Lewis Carroll, Artists' Choice Editions, 2006.

But the principal failing occurred in the sailing,

And the Bellman, perplexed and distressed, 

Said he had hoped, at least, when the wind blew due East,

That the ship would not travel due West!

The Old Man of the Border

 There was a Old Man of the Border,

Who lived in the utmost disorder;

He dance with his cat, and made tea in his hat,

Which vexed all the folks on the Border.

Edward Lear

'The Old Man of the Border' a rough drawing and a final illustration by JVL in 

The Nonsense Verse of Edward Lear, Jonathan Cape, 1984 and reissued in 2012, page 37.

You can see (from a note on the rough drawing) that the final illustration, from rough drawing to finished artwork, took 7 hours and 27 minutes to complete.

A Man eating his own words

A Man eating his own words - a book jacket illustration by JVL for 

The Methuen Dictionary of Clichés, edited by Christine Anmer, Methuen, 1992.

'The Common Cormorant'

'The Common Cormorant', an illustration by JVL in The Song that Sings the Bird; 

Poems for Young Children, chosen by Ruth Craft, Collins, 1989, page 59.

The Common Cormorant or shag

Lays eggs inside a paper bag

The reason you will see no doubt

It is to keep the lightning out.

But what these unobservant birds

Have never noticed is that herds

Of wandering bears may come with buns

And steal the bags to hold the crumbs.

This poem has often been attributed to that ubiquitous creative person known as 'Anon' but 

Christopher Isherwood's name has sometimes been put forward as the creator of this magnificent poem.

An African woodcarving

An African woodcarving, a painting in gouache by JVL when studying at Salford School of Art, 1957.

As students we were time tabled one day a week to go outdoor sketching. If it rained we studied in museums. 

Lord's Café in Glossop

A drawing by JVL, showing a corner of his father's café (Lord's Café in Glossop) drawn in 1957 when a student at Salford School of Art

The three gardeners (as playing cards) painting the roses red

The three gardeners (as playing cards) painting the roses red. An illustration by JVL 

in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Artists' Choice Editions, 2009.

The sum of the three cards (7+5+2) =14. 

14 x 3 (the three gardeners) equals that magic number of 42.

Here is the beginning of the text by Lewis Carroll:

       CHAPTER VIII  The Queen's Croquet-Ground

A large rose-tree stood near the entrance of the garden:  the

roses growing on it were white, but there were three gardeners at

it, busily painting them red.  Alice thought this a very curious

thing, and she went nearer to watch them, and just as she came up

to them she heard one of them say, `Look out now, Five!  Don't go

splashing paint over me like that!

'A tissue is not to be sneezed at'

'A tissue is not to be sneezed at', an illustration by JVL for a projected unfinished graphic novel, 1987

'The Pink House'

'The Pink House', an illustration by JVL for Olive Cook's short story, The Pink House, 

Inky Parrot Press, 2002 

'An Old Man who said "Well!"'

An illustration by JVL in The Nonsense Verse of Edward Lear, Jonathan Cape, 1984 

(reissued in 2012), page 73.

Celery

'Celery', a drawing by JVL carried out in 1960 when a student.

The Leg of Mutton (Through the Looking-glass)

'The Leg of Mutton', an illustration by JVL in Lewis Carroll's 

Through the Looking-glass and what Alice Found There, Artists' Choice Editions, 2011.

The Text:

"You look a little shy; let me introduce you to that leg of mutton," said the Red Queen. "Alice - Mutton; Mutton - Alice." The leg of mutton got up in the dish and made a little bow to Alice; and Alice returned the bow, not knowing whether to be frightened or amused.

 "May I give you a slice?" she said, taking up the knife and fork, and looking from one Queen to the other.

"Certainly not," the Red Queen said, very decidedly: "it isn't etiquette to cut any one you've been introduced to.  Remove the joint".

The Plum Pudding in 'Through the Looking Glass'

The Plum Pudding, an illustration by JVL in Lewis Carroll's 

Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Artists' Choice Editions, 2011.

Here is the passage text:

"What impertinence!" said the Pudding."I wonder how you'd like it, if I were to cut a slice out of you, you creature!"

It spoke with a thick, suety sort of voice, and Alice hadn't a word to say: she could only sit and look at it and gasp. ... and all eyes were fixed upon her.

'Anancy the Spider'

'Anancy the Spider', an illustration of Andrew Salkey's poem by JVL in The Song that Sings the Bird, 

poems for young children chosen by Ruth Craft, Collins, 1989, page 79

Two abstract images from a diary

Two abstract images by JVL from a diary of 27 August 1984.

'The Dong meets a Jumbly Girl'

'The Dong meets a Jumbly Girl', one of the illustrations by JVL for 'The Dong with a Luminous Nose' in The Nonsense Verse of Edward Lear, Jonathan Cape, 1984 , reissued in 2012, page 12.

Long years ago

The Dong was happy and gay,

Till he fell in love with a Jumbly Girl

Who came to those shores one day,

For the Jumblies came in a sieve they did, -

Landing at eve near the Zemmery Fidd.

Here we see the Dong without his illuminated nose contraption. This is an instance in the poem in which Edward Lear refers back to 'The Jumblies', an earlier poem he had published in 1871. 'The Dong with a Luminous Nose' was written some time later, in August 1875, at San Remo where Lear settled during his last years.

The Jubjub Bird

'The Jubjub bird', an illustration by JVL in Lewis Carroll's  The Hunting of the Snark, 

Artists' Choice Editions, 2006.

As to temper the Jubjub's a desperate bird,

Since it lives in perpetual passion:

Its taste in costume is entirely absurd -

It is ages ahead of the fashion.

But it knows any friend it has met once before:

It never will look at a bribe:

And in charity-meetings it stands at the door,

And collects - though it does not subscribe.

Raoul's Encampment

'Raoul's Encampment', an illustration by JVL in Epics of the Middle Ages, 

The Folio Society, 2005 ( facing page 226).

'The Eagle and the Arrow'

'The Eagle and the Arrow', an illustration by JVL, in Aesop's Fables, Jonathan Cape, 1989.

This is a fable about an eagle being shot by an arrow which has been made with feathers that he recognises as his own. The eagle laments his plight, feeling that it is an insult to have died by means of his very own wings - hoist with his own petard, as it were, or caught in his own trap.

Here is Joseph Jacobs' version of the fable:

An Eagle was soaring through the air when suddenly it heard the whizz of an Arrow, and felt itself wounded to death. Slowly it fluttered down to earth, with its life pouring out of it. Looking down upon the Arrow with which it had been pierced, it found that the haft of the Arrow had been feathered with one of its own plumes. “Alas!” it cried, as it died, “we often give our enemies the means for our own destruction.”

Text: Joseph Jacobs, Fable 75 (1894).

Selected parallels: Aeschylus (c525-c456 BC), in a fragment from his lost Myrmidons, mentioned that this fable existed before his own time; according to the Scholiast on the Aves of Aristophanes (line 808). La Fontaine 2/6. L’Estrange 1/48.  TMI U161. Perry 276a (Babrian, Crusius 185). Byron alludes to this fable in his English Bards and Scotch Reviewers.

'There was an Old Person of Grange'

'There was an Old Person of Grange', an illustration by JVL in The Nonsense Verse of Edward Lear, 

Jonathan Cape, 1984 and reissued in 2012.

'There was a Young Lady of Russia'

'There was a Young Lady of Russia', an illustration by JVL in The Nonsense Verse of Edward Lear, 

Jonathan Cape, 1984 and reissued in 2012.

Daffodils, wasp and hole-puncher

'Daffodils, wasp and hole-puncher', a notebook drawing by JVL,  12 April 2011.

An Artichoke with Sam's Cactus and Venus Fly Trap

'An Artichoke with Sam's Cactus and Venus Fly Trap', 

a notebook drawing by JVL, 3 November 2012