Original Art on Comic Book Auctions: Thunderbirds x2

Comic Book Auctions Ltd has launched it Summer 2011 catalogue with bidding closing on Tuesday 7 June 2011 at 8 PM UK Time.

The piece that will be of particular interest to Bellamy fans is Thunderbirds original artwork (1968) from TV Century 21 No 137 - Lot number 216

Lot #216 Original art

Printed version

Thunderbirds original double page artwork drawn and signed by Frank Bellamy for TV Century 21 No 137 Sept 21 1967

The survey ship 'Palmerston' ploughs through icy seas that inexplicably start heating to boiling point. The Thunderbirds space station alerts to their S.O.S. and John Tracy launches Thunderbirds 2 and Gordon takes Thunderbirds 4 to the water. Then suddenly, 'Virgil The Sun - that light! It's - aaagh!'
The green and blue has faded from this piece, the red remains strong. Pelikan inks on board. 18 x 25 ins
£1,000-1,500

Yes, the piece is faded - don't blame the seller, we all have things displayed in our houses, that we like and the sun just keeps on shining - and therefore fading the inks. Those people who are smart (I have faded art so guess which I am!) get a laser copy and mount that and then store the piece away. When I first saw an original that had been stored properly I was absolutely shocked how vibrant the colour gradations were that Bellamy did.

UPDATE: Winning bid incl. 10% Buyer's Premium: £1,815(June 2011) 

There's also Lot # 217

Thunderbirds original artwork by Frank Bellamy from TV Century 21 No 168 1968
The Hood targets the final destruction of Tracy Island but brainwashed Brains is found alive - now he has to be electronically debriefed in the lab - but will he be rescued from the borders of insanity?
The green and blue has faded from this piece. Pelikan inks on board. 16 x 13 ins
£600-800

TV21 #168 Original art

TV21 #168 published version

UPDATE: Winning bid incl. 10% Buyer's Premium: ££968(June 2011)

But the thing that regularly hits me about FB is that he didn't do things easily. He knew the header would be added to his artwork and left space for it, but that didn't mean leaving the space blank. Some examples are more shocking than others, but look at the one above - enlarged below - 

The header is not left blank!

Here's another example from Thunderbirds

The printed header TV21 #164

The original art header

The recent Chris Bentley reprints showed this very clearly wherever the original art was shown without the lettering stuck on. (see Amazon link for details) Next time you look at Thunderbirds take a look behind the header, you'll be surprised what artwork you missed!

Original Art: Garth on eBay - The Beast of Ultor

 H93 from The Beast of Ultor

UPDATE: Sold for £137.45 (May 2011) with 5 bids

To quote phUKone, the seller:


This is from his tenth story 'The Beast of Ultor' from 1974. Code H93.

Artwork is absolutely pristine and is drawn much larger than the printed size. Artwork panels measure 135mm x 520mm. Signed with his distinctive signature and drawn on heavyweight CS10 board. The blacks are very dense, having been inked over many times - sometimes as many as eight - to give the density of black that he required.

As usual I'll update this page at the end of the auction

Frank Bellamy and the Army

Horse Artillery c.1940

The recently BookPalace reprint Frank Bellamy's the Story of World War One
showed Bellamy's later prowess at drawing military subjects. In all the oft-repeated biographies on Frank Bellamy, they mention his service in the Army. We know that during the time he spent in the Royal Artillery, he continued to hone his craft and quite a few very early pieces still exist in the hands of collectors. Most of these from his war service  show aspects of military life and one wonders why they were not taken for the National Archives with 'secrecy' orders applied to them. But the one above is not of a contemporary subject so escapes that restriction thankfully.

David Bellamy, Frank’s son, mentions (in Time View: Complete "Doctor Who" Illustrations of Frank Bellamy) that Bellamy was always frustrated that he could not be posted to Africa, which he had longed to see since childhood (instead he met his wife Nancy, a local girl!) In 1939 that Bellamy was called up as a Gunner an soon became Lance Bombardier Bellamy, (the Royal Artillery equivalent of Lance Corporal, the lowest Non-Commissioned Officer grade i.e. one above a Gunner (Private)). Over the course of the 6 years he was in the Army, he went from Corporal to Sergeant. His posting to Deerbolt Camp (now a Young Offenders Institution) was recorded in the famous Dez Skinn/Dave Gibbons interview, where he spent six months painting the walls and ceiling of an “aircraft recognition room with every aircraft in use - RAF, USAF and Luftwaffe […] from every angle imaginable.”

“Rudiments of aircraft recognition” by Eric Wilton published in 1944, contains “sixty common types of aircraft […] selected as the minimum number capable of giving the novice a really solid groundwork [and] is broken down into small categories for easy study according to systems of classification: first the aircraft are considered in relation to the work they have to do; and in the second classification they are arranged in groups based on those details of outward appearance that are conspicuous to a ground observer and give a clue to identity”.

Unfortunately all attempts to track down any photos have to date been unsuccessful. I communicated with Frank T. Smith, the author of an article on Deerbolt, back a few years ago, but as with so many contacts, this one dried up. I made contact as result of reading the article in After The Battle #113 (still available for purchase from their website)

David Britton (one of the guys who set up the touring Eagle Exhibitions - to which I contributed in a vague way, just the once) emailed me a copy of a picture he bought "at an auction of Eagle memorabilia in Gloucester (1995?). On the back was (and it still has a Post-it note with the name Gilliam Hall (former wife of Christopher Hall) and printed name-plate of Frank with his address & telephone number in Morden Surrey. It was lot 185"


I queried with him why it had Nancy's signature on it. "Yes that is Nancy's signature. I showed it to her when she was our guest at the Eagle Dinner at Launde Abbey (1998) and I asked if she could confirm it was Frank's work. She did and kindly signed the mount as additional proof."


Now one of difficulties I have found, despite having had a Dad in the forces, is learning military vocabulary, let alone identifying pictures of such subjects. Luckily David provided this "It is meant to be the Horse Artillery (my father was a member before WWII, as he was able to ride a horse) in WW I drawing a carriage containing an officer through battle-scarred countryside. It is signed Gnr (I assume "Gunner")FRANK A BELLAMY." Absolutely right David and many thanks for sharing this

I have amended the entry in the Unpublished works by Bellamy listing (from 'Lance Bombardier' to 'Horse Artillery sketch'  and added a scan under the note

Pawley's Peepholes - discovered

Pawley's Peepholes
© BBC Publications

For at least 8 years I have been searching for a copy of what I thought was the "BBC MUSIC: PAWLEY'S PEEPHOLE BBC Publications for Schools & Colleges 1970". After my friend Penny told me Pawley's Peepholes was a short story by Wyndham I read the short story - she even lent the book to me. I blogged about it right at the start of this blog but received no feedback. Time marched on (for the irony - see this short story!) and I followed all sorts of booksellers' websites, hoping to find a copy - if it even existed! No joy!

Until one day recently I asked an eBayer if he had a copy and he replied:

Hi Norman I've found it on the web, I definitely haven't got it. No-one seems to have a copy except The National Arts Education Archive, they may let you photocopy it, not sure but have a try, Scott,

What a strange answer I thought, as I watch all sorts of places for anything to do with Bellamy, but wondered how he had found it and I hadn't and secondly who on earth were the NAEA??

Off I went and found them very quickly, and sent a note with trembling fingers on my keyboard and received, very quickly, a reply back:

Hello Norman
Yes, this is the booklet. If you would like me to photocopy it I will do so. It is a 28 page booklet Then you could make a donation to the Archive in lieu of copying and postage.
I look forward to hearing from you.

At this point you can imagine my sheer panic and joy. I was so close but I'd been this close before to other Bellamy pieces and not managed to get closure to the transaction.

But shortly after I received in the post 28 pages of photocopies (from which I have done scans). Being a good boy I asked how I should credit both Scott and the National Arts Education Archive (NAEA) - long may Google index this wonderful institution! - and I was told it would much appreciated if I said it came courtesy of
The Paul Mann Music Education collection, the National Arts Education Archive @YSP, Bretton Hall, Wakefield. The catalogue entry there reads:

Title	Music session one; Pawley's peepholes
Author	Lord, David
Institution	BBC Radio
Date Created	N.D.
Notes	Musical drama in three sequences based on a story by John Wyndham. Produced by Jenyth Worsley
Archive Number	BHPMBK00117

Well, I can fill in the date. It's definitely 1970 - it's actually on the cover, but I knew he received the commission in late 1969 from BBC Publications.

This is a  booklet used by schools in the days the BBC broadcast radio programmes (or 'wireless' as my teacher called it back then!) where we would all join in with copies of the book for the whole class. But this is actually a performance piece which was broadcast on Radio 4 from 28 April to 23 June. The music shows the parts for chorus, recorders, bongos, cymbal & tambourine, all other percussion and the piano! A collaborative education this!

Details

• CODE:#P79 - 28 pages "Musical drama in three sequences based on a story by John Wyndham"
• Music by David Lord
• Libretto: Eric Allen
• Illustrations:Frank Bellamy
• Producer: Jenyth Worsley
• All images © BBC Publications

The story:
The signs on the vehicles used by the time tourists in the original read:

• Pawley's Peepholes on the Past
•   — Greatest invention of the age
• History Without Tears
•   — for £1 See How Great Great Grandma Lived
• Ye Quainte Olde 20th Century Expresse
• See Living History in Comfort
•   — Quaint Dresses, Old Customs
• Educational! Learn Primitive Folkways
•   — Living conditions
•  Visit Romantic 20th Century
•   — Safety Guaranteed
•  Know Your History
•   — Get Culture — £1 Trip
•  Big Money Prize if you Identify Own Grandad/Ma

© Estate of John Wyndham

Anyway, to the art itself. There are 8 drawings (and we know about one unpublished - see Alan Davis' website where there's an image of the rocket-like travel device) and
the cover is classic Bellamy showing the launch station for the time machine. It is so reminiscent of the Atlantic Tunnel from Thunderbirds. One would think he was influenced by Mike Noble who loved drawing 'hardware', but of course Bellamy was in the Royal Artillery (more on this in another post) so was confident in drawing machinery too.

© BBC Publications

The people appear to have strange hair until you read the first-person story which says:

I don't know whether her hair would be her own, art and science together can do so much for a girl, but the way she was wearing it, it was like a great golden chrysanthemum a good foot and a half across, and with a red flower set in it a little left of centre. It looked sort of top-heavy. 

 I am so pleased to have pinned down one more commission by Bellamy

p.6

pp11-12

p.13

p.14

p.17

p.21

p.23

Thanks once more to Scott and the wonderful National Arts Education Archive for their help in tracking this down.

***UPDATE JULY 2023  ****

Pawley's Peepholes Summer 1967 Illustrations by Bill Burnard

Thanks to Nigel Parsons for writing and sharing the above earlier alternative version of "Pawley's Peepholes"!

Original Art: Garth on eBay - Orb of Trimandias

F55 from The Orb of Trimandias

UPDATE: Sold for £151.66 (April 2011) with 12 bids

To quote Tweedacedmy, the seller:

Another great example of Frank Bellamy's work on Garth, showing his love of historical settings. Our hero is transported back to the the intrigue of the Venitian court under the infamous Borgia regime. Along the way he will meet Leonardo Da Vinci and his muse and lover the beautiful goddess Astra. Here some unwise slave traders try to capture our hero and his comrade.

Those two giants Abdul! What a price they would fetch on the Algiers slave-mart!'

This is a task for Kemal!

(Exit Kemal).

A wonderful action packed example with great swashbuckle factor.

This is strip number F55 from March 1972.

The scan above is mine - check out the original on eBay

Garth and the Wreckers

© Daily Mirror

 Have you been following the Angels of Hell Gap that ran from Monday 21 February 2011 to Tuesday 12 April 2011? Well, get ready for the next story (in a different running order from the original printing.......

The story of the Wreckers ran originally in the Daily Mirror from 26 October 1973 to 18 February 1974 (G255-H41). If you are very quick and get the Daily Mirror today you get the start of the new coloured reprint in the paper - coloured by our good friend Martin Baines. Martin kindly shared the picture in this post and I mentioned to him - not wanting to appear too sycophantic - that I was actually thrilled to go to a newspaper shop every Monday to Saturday (not Sunday) to pick up my latest fix of Garth by Jim Edgar and Frank Bellamy (and Martin, of course!). It's been a very long time since I had a regular subscription to any paper or comic for that matter, and I'm enjoying the buzz of following this strip (and of course Andy Capp, and my personal favourite, The Perishers

Many thanks to Martin and the Mirror for the beautiful coloured  picture, I've selected one panel from the original black and white story below for your pleasure. And just in case you missed Steve, and Lew's articles click the links!

© Daily Mirror

Frank Bellamy and Lilliput

I was browsing my collection of Bellamy magazines and realised I have never shared anything about Lilliput magazine. I recently supplied some information to Paul Liss, a fine art dealer, (see the catalogue of Raymond Sheppard's work) and thought it worth showing some of Sheppard's contemporary, Bellamy's work from that very popular magazine. One day I might emulate the late great historian Alan Bullock and do a parallel lives of the two of them.

Stefan Lorant created Lilliput in July 1937. “The Pocket Magazine for Everyone” certainly was pocket-sized (it grew in size later in 1954, presumably as all rationing ended in England and consumerism really took off)  One of the lovely things about sitting page turning in the British Library is that you really get a flavour for a period. I am in love with the 1950s. The plethora of illustrations in these magazines is amazing. Line work with wash, cartoons, caricatures and so on. All the names are there too: Eric Fraser's bold lines; Robin Jacques delicate pointillism , Neville Dear adventurous illustrations and so on. The most famous was Ronald Searle, whose St. Trinians cartoons appeared from October 1941 until he (unsuccessfully) killed off the characters in 1951. July 1960 was the last issue of Lilliput which - like many children's comics of my youth, contained so called 'good news' - the merger with Men Only (more of which in a later article).

 Bellamy's work in Lilliput,  began in 1954 at the time he had a regular strip in Mickey Mouse Weekly, 'Monty Carstairs' and also he was doing regular illustrations for Boy's Own Paper. The following year he was illustrating for Everybody's (another prestigious magazine that Sheppard also illustrated for) and Outspan, the South African equivalent of Everybody's. All this from a self-taught artist from Kettering, Northamptonshire

Gerald Durrell (January 7, 1925 – January 30, 1995) was first published a year before this article appeared in Lilliput - 'Overloaded ark' appeared in 1953 and of course his Bafut Beagles (his "party of native specimen hunters" from Cameroon) were equally famous at the time . It would be fantastic to know how Bellamy was chosen to illustrate this story called "Que-Fong-Goo" - the native name for the skink illustrated. Illustrators were very important to Durrell's work (see Wikipedia)  he was no mean artist himself - but Bellamy obviously didn't make enough of an impression on Durrell for him to request him at a later date. But that's all supposition on my part! 

The six illustrations accompanying this article are all by Bellamy and show his love of all things native. Remember references for these things had to be worked at - no Internet back then - and photos of Bellamy at home show his collection of Africana

Bellamy's stippling (that mass of dot s that provide perspective in the illustration above) and line work here are very mature. I'm sure he knew this was a prestigious commission and as we can see he went on to do six more commissions for Lilliput. I suspect by the end of 1956 his regular work in Swift (and then Eagle later in 1957) plus these odd commissions were enough work to keep his small family comfortable

 All illustrations are copyright of their owner, which I'm guessing is IPC (who acquired much of Odhams, who acquired Hulton. Please contact me (feedbackATfrankbellamyDOTcom) if anyone can enlighten me