We have discovered a new source of Bellamy's artwork but also got into a mystery! In the comic Rocket #6 (26 May 1956), there is an advert for "The Pictorial Encyclopedia" and "The Pictorial History Book" - a matching pair of titles.
They appear to be the sort of title that your mother and father would approve of you purchasing with your pocket money. Until a conversation with David Driver (whose name should always be mentioned when talking about Frank Bellamy's work in the Radio Times in the 1970s) I had no idea of the existence of these books. The British Library has no date for them but does acknowledge receipt of them in 1952 and 1954 respectively. These are the nearest we get to the actual dates. At the time Bellamy was attached to the Norfolk Studios in London producing advertising and soon he would join Mickey Mouse Weekly so this is pretty early work
David very kindly let me borrow his copy of "The Pictorial History Book" and with shaking fingers I turned each page. The contents page lists the artists (an unusual thing for these sort of reference works in my opinion!) and there is Frank Bellamy! I quickly bought a copy of the book knowing I would want to scan whatever I found and share it - so don't worry David your copy is safe! David said to me he'd had the book for some time and that he couldn't work out which picture was Bellamy's. Now, I like a challenge like that so I have presented several scans below for you to make up your mind.
The Pictorial History Book (Editorial board: R Haddon, Charles Harvey, Lionel M Munby, E S Wolff) London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., [1954]
It immediately looks as if artists were not given one article to illustrate as there are mixtures of styles in the book and even within articles. So how can we find Bellamy? Some the colour and black & white pictures have identifying marks / signatures - such as C. L. Doughty, who appears throughout (and in the matching book). Often when browsing a bunch of book illustrations or magazines one sees a pattern and begins to 'see' an artist's style so maybe a process of elimination might work.
Below are scans of the major artists including the possible Bellamys
So where does this get us? Do we know which picture(s) Bellamy drew for this work? I think your guess is as good as mine. Paul Holder feels that Page 29 "The coming of the Danes" is the piece. I liked the boat so that ties in. David Driver couldn't guess and he worked with Bellamy in the 1970s so do I know the answer? - No! Get in contact if you have a copy of this book and can add anything and have a look at copies at Abebooks if you want to join in.
UPDATE: Peter Richardson and David Jackson have voted for pages 178 and 179 and I personally favour those too
And here are the details extracted by David Jackson from the book for those who have a copy to work through which pages/panels they think are Bellamy's work. Listed artists (signed and inferred style pages where noted):
- pp1-3
p 4 C L Doughty style.
- p 5
p 6 C L Doughty style.
p 7 C L Doughty style.
p 8 Cedric Chater style.
p 9 Cedric Chater style.
p10 Cedric Chater style.
p11 Cedric Chater sig.
p12 Cedric Chater style.
p13 Cedric Chater sig.
p14 Cedric Chater style.
C L Doughty sig b/w frame.
p15 Cedric Chater sig.
p16 C L Doughty sig b/w frame.
- pp17-29
p30 C L Doughty sig b/w.
- pp31-33
p34 Wilfred Savage sig on main frame.
p35 Wilfred Savage sig on main frame
p36 Patrick Nicolle (inf as fol).
p37 Patrick Nicolle sig.
- pp38-39
p40 Patrick Nicolle sig.
p41 Patrick Nicolle (2pp spread).
- pp42-43
p44 Two frames signed CL Doughty '49.
p45 CL Doughty sig frame lower right.
- p46
p47 Frame centre left sig AP (A Pollock).
- pp48-50
p51 CL Doughty style.
p52 CL Doughty style;
'AP' (A Pollock) lower left.
p53 CL Doughty style.
- pp54-64
p65 Grace Golden.
p66 Grace Golden.
p67 Grace Golden sig.
p68 CL Doughty style (some).
p69 CL Doughty style (some) (inf as op).
p70 CL Doughty style (some).
- p71
p72 CL Doughty sig.
p73 Main frame signed CL Doughty.
p74 Top colour frame signed CL Doughty.
p75 Top (b/w) frame sig CL Doughty.
p76 Two colour frames signed CL Doughty.
- pp77-79
p80 CL Doughty signed frame top left.
- p81
p82 BS Biro.
p83 BS Biro.
p84 Possibly G Golden
S van Abbe (op fol).
p85 Two frames signed S van Abbe (F van Abbe, credit)
p86 Colour frame signed S van Abbe.
p87 CL Doughty sig;
Peter Jackson initials.
p88 'PJ' top frame in colour;
CL Doughty frame b/w;
[Battle graphics and lettering and map].
p89 CL Doughty sig at top;
PJ sig at lower right.
- pp90-96
p97 [Relates to pp98/99].
p98 [Relates to pp97/99].
p99 Orb symbol on spinning wheel frame (style as p137).
100 One signed C L Doughty.
101 C L Doughty style.
102 Probably Chater per p103.
103 Chater sig at top right
PJ sig (b/w).
103 One b/w frame marked 'PJ' - Peter Jackson
104 C L Doughty style.
Other style lowest frame (and across 'gutter' to p105).
105 CL Doughty sig.
Other style lowest frame (across 'gutter' from p104).
106 AP (A Pollack) on b/w frame;
Patrick Nicolle inf fol.
107 Patrick Nicolle sig.
108 ['Plan of Battle' graphics].
109 C L Doughty two frames, top signed.
110 Patrick Nicolle inf from sig style
- pp111-113
114 Bottom left frame PJ monogram of Peter Jackson.
Remainder possibly Winston Megoran as foll.
115 Bottom right corner signed Winston Megoran.
116 Winston Megoran style.
- pp117-119
120 Peter Jackson sig.
121 C L Doughty style.
Peter Jackson style.
122 C L Doughty style.
[Map - note: in b/w using dot-tonal].
123 Wifred Savage sig.
124 C L Doughty sig on main frame.
125 C L Doughty sig on main frame.
- pp126-136
137 [Same style as pp98-99. Large map on page].
- pp138-141
142 C L Doughty sig.
143 Maps + graphics - signed by Cedric Chater.
144 Cedric Chater style.
145 Richard Ward sig top frame.
- pp146-149
150 ['pastimes'] - motifs in colour;
CLD style b/w frames (and poss one other).
151 L Kenyon style as fol.
152 L Kenyon sig lower right;
C L Doughty sig b/w.
153 Top frame possibly signed (but small/illegible).
- p154
155 Grace Golden "GG" (to left of "The Court of...").
156 Grace Golden.
157 Grace Golden.
- pp158-163
164 [merchant navy].
165 [merchant navy].
166 Two frames signed C L Doughty.
- pp167-177
178 [aircraft]
179 [aircraft]
- pp180-181
182 Map graphic signed 'ALVAN' / Credit 'Allan.'
- pp183-184
185 C L Doughty top of lower frames but right cut off at top.
- p186
187 Cedric Chater sig.
- pp188-191
David very kindly let me borrow his copy of "The Pictorial History Book" and with shaking fingers I turned each page. The contents page lists the artists (an unusual thing for these sort of reference works in my opinion!) and there is Frank Bellamy! I quickly bought a copy of the book knowing I would want to scan whatever I found and share it - so don't worry David your copy is safe! David said to me he'd had the book for some time and that he couldn't work out which picture was Bellamy's. Now, I like a challenge like that so I have presented several scans below for you to make up your mind.
The Pictorial History Book (Editorial board: R Haddon, Charles Harvey, Lionel M Munby, E S Wolff) London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., [1954]
 |
| Title page, list of illustrators and Contents with C. L. Doughty's portraits |
It immediately looks as if artists were not given one article to illustrate as there are mixtures of styles in the book and even within articles. So how can we find Bellamy? Some the colour and black & white pictures have identifying marks / signatures - such as C. L. Doughty, who appears throughout (and in the matching book). Often when browsing a bunch of book illustrations or magazines one sees a pattern and begins to 'see' an artist's style so maybe a process of elimination might work.
Below are scans of the major artists including the possible Bellamys
 |
| page 16 |
 |
| C. L. Doughty's signature is just visible |
 |
| Page 29 This boat looks very Bellamy to me |
 |
| Page 30 This ploughman looks odd but the background and ox look Bellamy-like to me - and compares in technique to his Captain Cook |
 |
| Page 51 Bellamy was shortly going to be drawing in Mickey Mouse Weekly ("Monty Carstairs" strip) but would do King Arthur and his Knights later. Is this him? The twisted figure bottom right again looks like Doughty to me |
 |
| Page 52 - and A. Pollack's signature |
 |
| Page 68 |
 |
| Page 69 |
 |
| Page 85 |
 |
| Salomon Van Abbé signature |
 |
| Page 88 |
 |
| The brilliant Peter Jackson's scroll! |
 |
| Page 104 |
 |
| Page 115 |
 |
| Page 115 showing Winston Megoran's signature |
 |
| Page 152 with Ley Kenyon's signature |
 |
| Page 178 Could this be Bellamy - perhaps only the bottom right hand frame? |
 |
| Page 179 are nice colour works with no signatures but Bellamy drew World War One later for Look and Learn and also drew lots of explosions in his time |
 |
| Page 187 with Cedric Chater's signature |
So where does this get us? Do we know which picture(s) Bellamy drew for this work? I think your guess is as good as mine. Paul Holder feels that Page 29 "The coming of the Danes" is the piece. I liked the boat so that ties in. David Driver couldn't guess and he worked with Bellamy in the 1970s so do I know the answer? - No! Get in contact if you have a copy of this book and can add anything and have a look at copies at Abebooks if you want to join in.
UPDATE: Peter Richardson and David Jackson have voted for pages 178 and 179 and I personally favour those too
 |
| List of illustrators |
- J Allan [ALVAN] 182
- Barbosa
- AE Batchelor
- Henry Barnett
- Frank Bellamy
- Victor J Bertoglio
- BS Biro 82-83
- Douglas Bowness
- Drake Brookshaw
- R Burgess
- Cedric Chater 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 102 103 143 144 187
- Leo Davy [Davey]
- CL Doughty 4 6 7 14 16 26 27 28 30 44 45 51 52 53 72-76 80 87 88 89 100 101 104 105 109 121 122 153 124-125 152 153 166 185
- S Gale
- Grace Golden 65-67 84? 155-157
- LG Goodwin
- J Harman
- Peter Jackson 87-89 103 114 120 121
- RW Jobson
- CJ Johnstone
- L Kenynon 151 152
- JF Lewsley
- Winston Megoran 114 115 116
- Will Nickless
- Patrick Nicolle 37 40-41 106-107 110
- Walter Pannett
- A Pollack 47 52 106
- Wilfred Savage 34-35 123
- RM Sax
- E Sears
- WH Shepherd
- SA Smith
- Derrick Smoothy
- Cicely Steed
- E Tansley
- Saloman Van Abbe [ie not "F"] 84 85 86
- Eric Wade
- Richard Ward 145
- W With
- B Young
- pp1-3
p 4 C L Doughty style.
- p 5
p 6 C L Doughty style.
p 7 C L Doughty style.
p 8 Cedric Chater style.
p 9 Cedric Chater style.
p10 Cedric Chater style.
p11 Cedric Chater sig.
p12 Cedric Chater style.
p13 Cedric Chater sig.
p14 Cedric Chater style.
C L Doughty sig b/w frame.
p15 Cedric Chater sig.
p16 C L Doughty sig b/w frame.
- pp17-29
p30 C L Doughty sig b/w.
- pp31-33
p34 Wilfred Savage sig on main frame.
p35 Wilfred Savage sig on main frame
p36 Patrick Nicolle (inf as fol).
p37 Patrick Nicolle sig.
- pp38-39
p40 Patrick Nicolle sig.
p41 Patrick Nicolle (2pp spread).
- pp42-43
p44 Two frames signed CL Doughty '49.
p45 CL Doughty sig frame lower right.
- p46
p47 Frame centre left sig AP (A Pollock).
- pp48-50
p51 CL Doughty style.
p52 CL Doughty style;
'AP' (A Pollock) lower left.
p53 CL Doughty style.
- pp54-64
p65 Grace Golden.
p66 Grace Golden.
p67 Grace Golden sig.
p68 CL Doughty style (some).
p69 CL Doughty style (some) (inf as op).
p70 CL Doughty style (some).
- p71
p72 CL Doughty sig.
p73 Main frame signed CL Doughty.
p74 Top colour frame signed CL Doughty.
p75 Top (b/w) frame sig CL Doughty.
p76 Two colour frames signed CL Doughty.
- pp77-79
p80 CL Doughty signed frame top left.
- p81
p82 BS Biro.
p83 BS Biro.
p84 Possibly G Golden
S van Abbe (op fol).
p85 Two frames signed S van Abbe (F van Abbe, credit)
p86 Colour frame signed S van Abbe.
p87 CL Doughty sig;
Peter Jackson initials.
p88 'PJ' top frame in colour;
CL Doughty frame b/w;
[Battle graphics and lettering and map].
p89 CL Doughty sig at top;
PJ sig at lower right.
- pp90-96
p97 [Relates to pp98/99].
p98 [Relates to pp97/99].
p99 Orb symbol on spinning wheel frame (style as p137).
100 One signed C L Doughty.
101 C L Doughty style.
102 Probably Chater per p103.
103 Chater sig at top right
PJ sig (b/w).
103 One b/w frame marked 'PJ' - Peter Jackson
104 C L Doughty style.
Other style lowest frame (and across 'gutter' to p105).
105 CL Doughty sig.
Other style lowest frame (across 'gutter' from p104).
106 AP (A Pollack) on b/w frame;
Patrick Nicolle inf fol.
107 Patrick Nicolle sig.
108 ['Plan of Battle' graphics].
109 C L Doughty two frames, top signed.
110 Patrick Nicolle inf from sig style
- pp111-113
114 Bottom left frame PJ monogram of Peter Jackson.
Remainder possibly Winston Megoran as foll.
115 Bottom right corner signed Winston Megoran.
116 Winston Megoran style.
- pp117-119
120 Peter Jackson sig.
121 C L Doughty style.
Peter Jackson style.
122 C L Doughty style.
[Map - note: in b/w using dot-tonal].
123 Wifred Savage sig.
124 C L Doughty sig on main frame.
125 C L Doughty sig on main frame.
- pp126-136
137 [Same style as pp98-99. Large map on page].
- pp138-141
142 C L Doughty sig.
143 Maps + graphics - signed by Cedric Chater.
144 Cedric Chater style.
145 Richard Ward sig top frame.
- pp146-149
150 ['pastimes'] - motifs in colour;
CLD style b/w frames (and poss one other).
151 L Kenyon style as fol.
152 L Kenyon sig lower right;
C L Doughty sig b/w.
153 Top frame possibly signed (but small/illegible).
- p154
155 Grace Golden "GG" (to left of "The Court of...").
156 Grace Golden.
157 Grace Golden.
- pp158-163
164 [merchant navy].
165 [merchant navy].
166 Two frames signed C L Doughty.
- pp167-177
178 [aircraft]
179 [aircraft]
- pp180-181
182 Map graphic signed 'ALVAN' / Credit 'Allan.'
- pp183-184
185 C L Doughty top of lower frames but right cut off at top.
- p186
187 Cedric Chater sig.
- pp188-191
