Joan Beales, Illustrator
I am proud to publish these excerpts from THE SILVER LOCKET by a graduate of my writing course. The author says ‘A lifetime of reading and book collecting leads me to share stories of literary life: books old and new which inspire and comfort me and the people I meet.’
I am taking bookings for the next writing course, HOW TO WRITE A BLOG THAT PEOPLE WILL WANT TO READ on February 6th & 7th. Come to Spitalfields and spend a winter weekend in an eighteenth century weaver’s house in Fournier St, enjoy delicious lunches and eat cakes baked to historic recipes, and learn how to write your own blog.
If you are graduate of my course and you would like me to feature your blog, please drop me a line.
Illustrator Joan Beales holds a very special place in my heart. Her first picture book Pip and the Six Cooks, published in 1964, was one of my very first books, which I read over and over again.
Turning the pages, all my childhood delight comes rushing back – the generous size, the exquisite line drawings, the vibrant colours which evoke the sunny atmosphere of the mediterranean, the joy to be had in all the characters depicted in the book’s endpapers, including the head chef with his wind-up gramophone, Poppoff who was born in a circus, and not forgetting the terrible kitchen cats. I think it is my desert island book because it would bring me comfort and joy, and I would never tire of looking at all the details.
When I had a lot of time on my hands during the pandemic, I did some research into Joan Beales’ life and work. Keen to find out more about her I contacted Professor Martin Salisbury, founder of the MA in children’s book illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. I knew he was an admirer of Joan Beales’ work and he told me:
‘Joan Beales is something of a mystery. Her charming poster designs and illustrations for children’s books are greatly admired by practitioners and students alike for their inventive graphic fusion of flat shape, pattern and line drawing.‘
Despite all my enquiries I have discovered very little. I believe she was born in 1926, lived in Manchester and studied at the Royal College of Art just after the War. She was a graphic artist and illustrator, designing posters for London Transport and the Science Museum between 1954 and 1956. Two other books besides Pip stand out for her illustrations: The Seasons by Derek Jervis, published in 1962, and Travel by Land which she wrote and illustrated, published in 1966.
Although she went on to illustrate many early readers in the seventies including Leila Berg’s Nippers, it is her early work which enchants me. In the London Transport Museum online archive online, I found a letter from Joan Beales in which she mentions a mural she was working on for a London hotel. Further investigation reveals that she designed a mural for the Tavistock Hotel in 1957.
Imagine my surprise when, on posting my piece, I was contacted by Lynda Saul who wrote:
‘We bought some panels from an auction a few years ago and all we knew were that they came from a hotel….and I think they could be the ones Joan mentions in her letter! We have looked at her style and think they could be by her! Would love to try and work out which hotel it was! They’re huge!’
More recently I received this from Doug Wilmott-Swanney
‘I was a close friend of Joan Beales and I love she is getting the recognition she deserves. I may be the only person alive that knew her and her family.’
I am now fully embarked on detective work to try to piece some of this jigsaw together. Lynda has kindly given me permission to post her snapshots of the murals, which she subsequently sold, being too big to display. She told me:
‘They caught our eye as we love mid-century illustration and just had to have them! We didn’t at the time know who they were by, but they encapsulated the style we love perfectly (and we love a mystery!). Plus we had moved from London to Brighton (although since left!) and we liked that one depicted the same journey.‘
Maybe, just maybe, whoever bought Joan’s murals from a dealer in Brighton might read this and get in touch? It would be such a joy to know they are loved and even pay them a visit maybe. What a dream that would be!
Double page spread from Pip and the Six Cooks, 1964
Double page spread from Pip and the Six Cooks, 1964
Double page spread from Pip and the Six Cooks, 1964
Double page spread from Pip and the Six Cooks, 1964
Double page spread from Pip and the Six Cooks, 1964
Endpapers from Pip and the Six Cooks, 1964
Letter from Joan Beales in which she mentions her murals for the Tavistock Hotel. (Courtesy of London Transport Museum)
One of the panels designed by Joan Beales for the Tavistock Hotel in 1957 which is now believed to be in Brighton
Detail from one of the panels depicting the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
