Captain Bruce Bairnsfather exhibition in Plugstreet (Sept 19 - Dec 24 2014)

A few weeks ago I got this kind invitation:

Mr. Gilbert DELEU, Mayor,
Mr. Didier VANDESKELDE, Chairman of "Plugstreet 14-18 experience", Deputy Mayor for Cultural Affairs,
Mr. Luc DE GEEST, Deputy Mayor for Tourism,

are delighted to invite you to the lecture proposed by Tonie and Valmai HOLT, and the inauguration of temporary exhibition "Captain Bruce Bainrsfather, the Creator of Old Bill and the Better 'Ole".

Last Friday I attended the excellent lecture given by Tonie and Valmai Holt. We all learned some interesting facts about the artist and his character Old Bill. Tonie showed us some trench and other maps to locate the places, farms and cottages  where Bruce Bairnsfather (BB) spent his time during his short stay in Belgium and where he was a witness of the Plugstreet Christmas Truce in December 1914.

I was delighted to hear that the famous BB, until the end of his life in 1959, was a very kind, amiable and cordial person. So are Tonie and Valmai Holt who gave the lecture. I was happy to see them again after we met in 2009 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the dead of BB.  The temporary exhibition shows a (small) part of the impressive BB collection owned by Tonie and Valmai: Grim wades, trench art, glass slides, jigsaw puzzles, cards, postcards, prints, magazines, etc.

Surprise of the evening was the unveiling of... the original Better Ole cartoon. A top of the art collector's item and a masterpiece of BB: the most famous cartoon of WWI.

Valmai with original Better Ole cartoon

If you like the work of Bruce Bairnsfather, then follow this tips:

1. learn more about BB on our blog or on Mark Warby's  BB website

2. like The Bruce Bairnsfather Society on Facebook (you can even join in)

3. fill in the petition to give Bruce Bairnsfather the recognition he deserves for his immeasurable contribution to boosting morale during WW1. The petition has been started by Tonie and Valmai Holt, who are proposing that a leading member of the Government should make a statement in the House that Bairnsfather's contribution during the war should be retrospectively recognised.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/the-captain-bruce-bairnsfather-recognition-2

before the lecture, I took this picture at Prowse Point cemetary

Vriend over Vijand - De Grote Oorlog in spotprenten by Paul Vandamme / Friend on Foe -The Great War in cartoons

Last Thursday I attended the presentation of Paul Vandamme's newest book 'Vriend over Vijand'  - De Grote Oorlog in Spotprenten (Lannoo, Belgium,  ISBN 978-94-014-0695-6, 40 eur)  . Title translation: Friend on Foe - The Great War in cartoons).  He couldn't choose a better place: the In Flanders Fields museum in Ypres. On the occasion of the publication of the  book by Uitgeverij Lannoo, a number of cartoons from the collection of the author and the IFFM are exhibited.
In the large cabinet the museum displays a number of original two- and three-dimensional caricatures, in the corridor hang eight large reproductions of famous caricatures.

 

Paul Vandamme is a belgian historian, history teacher and passionate collector of historic cartoons. In only a few years time he collected an impressive amount of WWI cartoon and caricature books, drawings, magazines and postcards from all over the world. In the book, a  reference work, about 400 historic cartoons tell and illustrate the history of WWI. The army of WWI cartoonists, armed with pencil and paper,  fought their battle to influence, to inform, to satirize, to boost morale... Magazines such as Simplicissimus (Germany), La Baïonnette (France), Punch (GB), Die Muskete (Austria), etc. published thousands of cartoons.

I've started reading the book, and I must say this an outstanding reference work. In about 10 chapters and 200 topics, the author tells the story of The Great War, starting in 1870 with the French-Prussian war and ending with the Pact of Locarno (1925). The drawings that  illustrate each topic have been selected with great care and fit perfect in the topic's context.  One notices that the author has spent lots of time in research. The author also explains the drawings in a comprehensive way. One of the most difficult things when I look at historic caricatures or cartoons, is trying to understand the drawings and their meaning. The author has done a good job and gives the reader a good insight in the different topics and cartoons.

Paul  was so kind to send us an English translation of some pages.  An English
translation of the book isn't available yet.

The book is available in Dutch and let's hope there will follow an English translation.

Maarten Vansteenberghe, publisher general non-fiction, Lannoo

Paul Vandamme signing the book I just bought...

many people attending the publication

one of the large reproductions hanging in the IFF corridor

Learn more:
Uitgeverij Lannoo
Standaard Boekhandel

Bullets and Billets

A few weeks ago I bought the autobiographical book Bullets and Billets (Bruce Bairnsfather, 1916) on the annual WWI and WWII military book fair in Passchendaele (Belgium). In this book Bairsfather tells about his experiences in the trenches around Plugstreet and Ypres (Belgium), places only about 15 miles away from where I live.

In 2014 there will be a WWI cartoon exhibition in the ECC: I will be prepared...

You can find out more about Bruce Bairsfather in previous posts on our blog.

Learn more:

Free online download and e-book (Gutenberg Project)

Leonard Sansone

Maggie Sansone, daughter of Leonard Sansone (USA, 1917 - 1963) , sent a mail with the message that the death day of her father wasn't correct in our article 'The Wolf'.
She sent some evidence, not that I didn't believe her:

Maggie shared with me some articles she found in her mother’s scrapbook about the details of the tragic end to her father’s life who died in a car accident at age 46. It’s been over 50 years since the tragedy and their family is now working on releasing a memoir to honor the memory of Leonard Sansone’s life and contributions as a cartoonist.

Sgt. Leonard Sansone (1917- 1963, USA) has lightened the load for millions of G.I. guys and gals. He was working for the Yankee dollar in a New York ad agency’s art department when the roof fell in a Pearl Harbor. A few weeks later the government offered him a new smock if he would come to Fort Belvoir. After basic training he drew The Wolf as a one-shot cartoon for a local camp publication – the first appearance of that all-too-human character. The idea caught on and Sansone was syndicating his lupine glom for world-wide Camp Newspaper Service. Sansone insists that The Wolf is strictly a product of hearsay and observation. But to all working wolves and corner coyotes he wishes “Happy howling”.

Thanks Maggie for reminding me and let us know when the book about your father is ready!

Learn more:

The Wolf by Leonard Sansone

Armistice Day 2011 - De Oorlog in Prent by Jan Feith (The War in cartoons)

Is there a better day and a better place to buy an old book with political cartoons of the years preceding and the first year of World War 1? On 11 November 2011 about 11 o'clock and in Passchendaele I bought "De oorlog in Prent" by Jan Feith.

The book was published in Amsterdam in May 1915 (Scheltens & Giltay). As Holland was a neutral country during WWI, the author's point of view is "neutral" too. The subtitle of the book sounds "caricatures from the different countries". There are nine chapters in the book (190 pages): 1. The allegory of war 2. the history of the war 3. what one reproaches the other 4. ruined cities 5. their armed forces 6. war press in the caricature 7. sport as a motive of war 8. leaders of war 9. about neutrality and neutrals.

The book shows a selection of cartoons and caricatures published in newpapers and magazines in the different countries in Europe and the United States (Punch, Simplicissimus, Jugend, The Bystander, Kladderadatsch, Le Matin, Evening Sun, Avanti, Nebelspalter, etc. ) .
The coloured cover is a colour copy of another version of the book. The cover below, the original cover of this book is in black and white. I think this is the original edition of the book, but I am not sure. The edition with the yellow coloured cover can be a later one. If someone can help me find out, let me know.

Learn more:
Armistice Day 2010 - Brushes and Bayonets

Jan Feith on Wikipedia
Jan Feith on Lambiek.net
De Oorlog in Prent (info on Google Books)

William Heath Robinson Exhibition in Pinner (London Borrough of Harrow)

I admire the work of WH Robinson. The Bloghorn informed about the new exhibiton.
You can view Machines and Inventions , which is a selling exhibition, online at the Chris Beetles Gallery.

Learn more:
Chris Beatles London
More about WH Robinson on this blog

Armistice Day 2010 - Brushes and Bayonets : Cartoons, Sketches and Paintings of World War I

With her book 'Brushes and Bayonets' (Osprey UK, 2008) Lucinda Gosling pays tribute to the magnificent artists, cartoonists and painters who illustrated the Great War. The pictures were originally published in The Illustrated London News.

I bought this book in preparation of a WW1 cartoon exhibition in the ECC and it's a reference work, just as is Mark Bryant's WWI in Cartoons.

The book has its own website with reviews, links and even pictures of the book launch in the Cartoon Museum in London. To me this is a very good idea to present a book and  it makes the effort for me to present it to you far more easy.

This is what we read on the back of the book:

"It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but, during World War I, newspaper illustrations were worth even more, not only conveying the news to anxious families at home and soldiers in battle, but also entertaining and lifting the spirits of a nation at war.

Featuring work by some of the most well-known illustrators of the period fromW. Heath Robinson to Bruce Bairnsfather, this thematic collection of 250 WorldWar I magazine illustrations is published in association with The Illustrated London News (the British Harper's).

The illustrations included range from light-hearted strip cartoons and line drawings, to poignant sketches and dark and hard-hitting political satire. The images not only depict events as they happened, but reveal all the moods of a nation at war. Many are published here for the first time in 90 years, creating a unique, bittersweet portrayal of the Great War and a fascinating and very human, historical and artistic reference source."

Read more:
Brushes and Bayonets website
Armistice Day Passchendaele article
WWI in Cartoons by Mark Bryant

Bruce Bairnsfather
Louis Raemaekers