In
addition to his comics work for Britain’s major publishers of children’s
funnies and Fudge the Elf strip in Manchester Evening News, Ken Reid
illustrated weekly competitions for the Irish Edition of Sunday Express.
He did
four series between 1956 and 1970. They were Horse Pics, Horse
Clues, Inn Signs and Titles (in order of appearance), a
total of nearly 700 drawings. The printed version was only 2 ½ x 2 ½ inches, original
drawings were 4 times larger.
Here are some cut-outs of Inn Signs (the rusty
staple mark shows how small they were in the paper):
The
competitions were quite challenging – readers had to select five names out of
eight provided (eleven in the case of the earlier competitions) and list them
in correct order in the entry coupon. Ken had a completely free hand devising illustrations
and thinking up names, sometimes as many as a couple of dozen of them, for the
editor to choose from.
Here
are some examples of Titles. I have quite a few more of
those and can show them in another blogpost, if there’s enough interest, so do
let me know :) The challenge was to select the most suitable titles for a book
based on cover illustration:
There
is something about the competitions that I don’t quite understand, perhaps some
of my learned readers would be able to help me. Horse Pics and Horse
Clues were usually humorous drawings with no horses. Why were they
called Horse Pics and Horse Clues then? Does the word “horse”
refer to something else other than the familiar domesticated mammal in this
case?
Good question, Irmy - wish I knew the answer. Great illustrations 'though. Incidentally, the marks look like paper clips rather than staples, although perhaps that's what they're called in your country.
ReplyDeleteThe phrases 'horsing around' and 'horseplay' spring to mind, both of which mean to 'fool around' or indulge in frivolity. Perhaps the puzzles were considered as 'frivolous diversions, hence the name(s)?
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a possibility.
DeleteNice to see Ken's more serious work...great to see..
ReplyDeleteHorses for courses is another expression...could mean what suits the picture..
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/horses_for_courses
First: many thanks for this amazing blog.
ReplyDeleteSecond: yes PLEASE to more Ken Reid.
I've been blogging quite a lot about Ken Reid recently and intend to do more in the future. Thanks for your interest and encouragement!
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