PART TWO: WORLD'S PRESS NEWS
Part One
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| World's Press News 11 July 1952, p2 |
Continuing my brief overview of an obscure corner of Bellamy's work, the next
World's Press News advert for the
Daily Telegraph concentrates on the crossword puzzle. Bellamy draws a scene I'm sure he would have seen, living in Morden and having to get into central London to deliver artwork or attend editorial meetings. At this stage he was working for the Norfolk Studios, 24, Bride lane, just off Fleet Street. This signed (F.A.B.) contains a red spot colour (not shown on B&W copy above!). I love the gentleman on the left squinting to read the gent in the middle's crossword. Is the gent in the middle spying on the lady hiding
her crossword? Notice the nice touch by the
Telegraph at the bottom:
"can putt at your sphere (anag.)" - but it's not the usual "is the paper people trust" as there are not enough 'p's. I look forward to your answers!
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| World's Press News 22 August 1952 |
"The City", the financial centre of London (and by association, England) is the next feature drawn by Bellamy. Interestingly, beginning in this issue, the eighth in the series, the line "Features that pull" has been added. "Francis Whitmore's City Notes" are mentioned for the types who are "something in the City and Bellamy shows a man in a 'pinny' at the washing-up and the garden fork, spade and lawnmower are nearby. I don't quite understand what this is saying. Is the overbearing wife making sure her 'City' gent is working at home too? What does she do all day? Is it the juxtaposition between his position in the City and his non-position at home?
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| World's Press News 19 September 1952 |
This next one shows the 19 September 1952 issue “Features that pull No. 9: Films" and is signed FAB. This one shows how Bellamy, even this early had experience of representative portraits and cartoon characters. At the top left we see an usherette's hand flashing a torch to show people to their seats. At the top right the post-War
"spiv" with his girlfriend cuddling on the back row, while a serious older man sits in front of them. There's an older woman crying and a young boy dressed as a cowboy who doesn't want anything to do with such emotional displays! The film stock runs down vertically with a highlighted frame of two Hollywood lovers. Later
Radio Times work shows Bellamy doing brilliant representations of actors. Finally at the bottom is the doorman in his uniform looking bored, but I love the film border turning into his steps! Campbell Dixon film reviewer gets a mention in the text. Below and just for a bit of fun, David Jackson has added a grey tint to the above to show how Bellamy might have added value to the drawing.
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| Imagine what it would look like with shading! |
The next "Features that pull" (#10) shows my least favourite of the series. A customer in hat and coat has the
Daily Telegraph to hand and picks a book from the display whilst another man looks on (reading his paper?). John Betjeman and Guy Ramsay amongst others do the book reviews choosing from "14,000 new titles appearing in a year"! In tiny print at the bottom of the book display you can just see Bellamy's signature "FAB".
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| World's Press News 17 October 1952 |
And here's the last one I'm going to show you until later in the year!
"Features that pull: #11: Special Features" gives us Television, Music, Radio, Bridge, Art, Gardening and childrens' hobbies. But what is the connecting device supposed to represent? Some of the wonderful writers' names the
Telegraph had were "
Marsland Gander on Radio and TV,
Richard Capell and
Martin Cooper on Music,
T.W. Earp on Art,
A.J. Smith (with a problem) on Bridge,
H.H. Thomas on Gardening". Names like that rarely appear nowadays! You will hardly make out the signature at the bottom left, but it states - unusually- "FAB Norfolk", which, of course does not refer to where he lived but the Norfolk Studios, where he worked.
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| World's Press News 14 November 1952 |
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