The Enid Blyton Society

In case anyone wants a copy of 'A Day With Noddy' - this looks in fairly good condition and a great starting price of £2.99 with £1.90 postage.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/A-Day-With-No ... SwcB5ZN5RH

I see that Tony has added Terry Gustafson's thorough, lively review of A Book of Magic to the Cave:

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book ... k+of+Magic" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Terry's summaries give a flavour of the various tales and whet the appetite without revealing too much. An appealing assortment of stories. I particularly like heartwarming stories like 'The Paper Crown' and cautionary tales like 'The Hoodle Bird', as well as traditional tales like 'The Ass, the Table and the Stick'.

Brilliant! Funnily enough I've been re-reading some of my 'Old Thatch' books these last few weeks ) - and I read 'A Book of Magic' last week. It was one of the few Old Thatch books I've got that I hadn't read before - some great stories, which I don't recall reading anywhere else.

I see that Terry mentions the illustrations as not being up to Soper or Davie standard, and I have to agree (the Old Thatch illustrations are by the same illustrator). In fact, I think most of the Old Thatch illustrations are a bit weird - but as Terry says, 'the message is conveyed'!

Yes, very interesting reviews — thanks to Terry for writing them and Tony for putting them up. I agree, they do make you want to read the stories and find out what happens! I don't have the book and haven't seen the internal illustrations, but I quite like the cover — very "modern" touch for the 1950s! I would have assumed from the style that it was more likely from the '70s.

I don't have the Coker edition but I have the Old Thatch edition below. Both books have similar stories.

sixret wrote:I don't have the Coker edition but I have the Old Thatch edition below. Both books have similar stories.

Actually, both books have the same stories.

A few rough photos of the illustrations. Actually the illustrations in this book are pretty good compared to the other Old Thatch books!

Noticed a comment by Courtenay (July 6th) and it's pertinent of course. The sentence in question, originally from a discarded review, managed to make its way onto the page.

Although the digital system is definitely preferred as opposed to the typewriter, at least the keyboard would have had to be given a jolly good push for anything extraneous to register back in the old days. More to the point, it was commendable on Courtenay's part to pick out the confusing statement because Beek has such a presence in the Noddy world although Tyndall and Wienk would probably register with most EBS members as well. It just goes to show that nothing untoward can get past eagle-eyed Blytoneers and the most observant of these just 'have' to be members of the Society.

Rob Houghton also remarked that 'A Day With Noddy' is in rhyme. Another relevant point, and those persons who aren't blessed with vast collections like he has, might like to know this.

If too much is given away however there could be 'complaints,' but it's appropriate to mention that EB liked her poetry. One or two other Noddy books are in rhyme and there are plenty of verses scattered throughout the short story collections. EB also produced the poetry book, and a couple of her earliest projects (Child Whispers & Real Fairies) are in rhyme.

Tyndall: Not many people know this man yet millions around the world have admired his work. In 1997 his art sold for three times its estimated value at Sotheby’s in London. But he did not receive a penny of it. He is a gentle and unassuming man. Yet he has the ability to reduce the sternest of executives and the sturdiest of men to a state of child-like awe. Robert Tyndall is the man who drew Noddy. From 1953 until 1968 he worked tirelessly to illustrate the prodigious output of Enid Blyton. As well as Noddy books there was also a weekly cartoon strip, illustrations for Noddy products and endorsements, and set designs for a Noddy pantomime. If Blyton wanted it drawn, Tyndall drew it. There were no exclusion clauses in his contract. He was not the first person to draw the character. That honour fell to Dutch artist Harmsen Van Der Beek in 1949. Van Der Beek developed Noddy from a series of figures he had produced for a jam company promotion. At the time Blyton’s publisher was seeking inspiration for a ‘Disney-style’ character. He was entranced by Van Der Beek’s drawings of the little people who inhabited a world of brightly coloured shops and houses. These little people were used to illustrate booklets given away by the jam manufacturer. ('West Australian')

It seems the one or two artists we have on these forums could stuff their purses like the Wicked Little Shepherds simply by producing an illustration or two of the little nodding man. Actually they might have to illustrate a whole book and then in time, fans will pay a fortune for their work. On the Abe UK site there is, or was, a Noddy & Big-Ears picture signed by Wienk (& Nelly) priced at £650!

Makes me wish I could draw.

tix wrote:Tyndall: Not many people know this man yet millions around the world have admired his work. In 1997 his art sold for three times its estimated value at Sotheby’s in London. But he did not receive a penny of it. He is a gentle and unassuming man. Yet he has the ability to reduce the sternest of executives and the sturdiest of men to a state of child-like awe. Robert Tyndall is the man who drew Noddy. From 1953 until 1968 he worked tirelessly to illustrate the prodigious output of Enid Blyton. As well as Noddy books there was also a weekly cartoon strip, illustrations for Noddy products and endorsements, and set designs for a Noddy pantomime. If Blyton wanted it drawn, Tyndall drew it. There were no exclusion clauses in his contract. He was not the first person to draw the character. That honour fell to Dutch artist Harmsen Van Der Beek in 1949. Van Der Beek developed Noddy from a series of figures he had produced for a jam company promotion. At the time Blyton’s publisher was seeking inspiration for a ‘Disney-style’ character. He was entranced by Van Der Beek’s drawings of the little people who inhabited a world of brightly coloured shops and houses. These little people were used to illustrate booklets given away by the jam manufacturer. ('West Australian')

I, along with many other Society members, feel lucky to have met Robert Tyndall at an Enid Blyton day, and to actually witness him drawing Noddy! My only regret is that I didn't manage to take home one of the sketches we watched him draw, but I know they went to good homes!

Yes, it was a real pleasure to watch him sketching. A great experience. I can't believe it was way back in 2006 - eleven years ago!

Tony Summerfield wrote:For anybody who might have liked the covers of the twelve Johnston & Bacon Little Books on the back cover of the Journal, I have spent the day scanning and prettifying the full covers of the 12 books for the Cave as most of them had wraparound covers and the backs have not been on display before.

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book ... k+No.+1%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was a bit embarrassed to see that I loaded the first half of this series nearly two and a half years ago in March 2015, so here at last are the full covers for the second half of the series.

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book ... +No.+13%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks, Tony. It's interesting to see the full pictures, especially as many are by lesser-known illustrators. I really like the dramatic cover by John Dugan for Hiawatha and the simple but colourful cover by Whyte for The Adventures of Bobs.

Moonraker wrote:Yes, it was a real pleasure to watch him [Robert Tyndall] sketching. A great experience. I can't believe it was way back in 2006 - eleven years ago!

How time flies! My daughter was ten back then (I think it was her second Enid Blyton Day) and she's just turned twenty-two!

The cover art for most of these little books is wonderful. This is how children's books should be illustrated. Thanks for those, Tony.

Yes - great covers, Tony! They're much better than the original Old Thatch series covers.

Unfortunately I only have two of these wonderfully illustrated covers myself - Robin Hood and 'All About the Circus' - which I bought specifically because its the one about Mr Galliano's Circus.

Thanks, Tony. When I decided to collect them, I was torn between those three series. Finally, I decided to collect the earliest series although the covers were not as striking as the other two series. However I have 5-6 books in J & B Little Books series.

What's 2½ years amongst friends, Tony? Worth the wait, lovely illustrations.