Find-Outers Illustrators Comparisons

Enid used many illustrators in her books. Discuss them here.
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Rob Houghton
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Favourite book/series: Rubadub Mystery, Famous Five and The Find-Outers
Favourite character: Snubby, Uncle Robert, George, Fatty
Location: Kings Norton, Birmingham

Re: Find-Outers Illustrators Comparisons

Post by Rob Houghton »

Daisy wrote:I think it is entirely understandable that we like best the illustrations we first meet. We identify with them and it takes quite a shift of mind, to feel that (in my case) later illustrations are in any way a true representation of the characters. In the case of the Find-Outers, however, that is a bit different, but perhaps fortunately for me, I didn't take too much notice of the illustrations as a child. I'm not sure that I even noticed the difference between them back then! Of course we didn't have the opportunity to read a complete series in succession when they were first published, so the impact would be negligible I think.
Not sure. I'm a mixture of the two. For the Find Outers the first illustrations I came across were by Mary Gernat...and I do prefer them to Rodney Sutton or Jenny Chapple...but I still prefer Lilian Buchanan and Treyr Evans over Mary Gernat.

With the Famous Five, the first versions I came across were in the Famous Five annuals of the 1970's - but I prefer the Eileen Soper depictions, even though I still have a very soft spot for the early annuals.

Faraway Tree - for me its Rene Cloke every time - the first illustrator I came across.

Same for Secret Seven - Derek Lucas illustrations are the 'real deal' for me. Whenever I drew pictures of The Secret Seven or Faraway Tree characters when I was young I always copied Cloke and Lucas.

Then again, Stuart Tresilian and Gilbert Dunlop are two illustrators I have always loved - because the Adventure and Barney books were never illustrated by anyone else while I was growing up - and I still love them today. :-D
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Courtenay
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Re: Find-Outers Illustrators Comparisons

Post by Courtenay »

Oddly enough, I can't remember ever taking much notice of the Find-Outers illustrations when I first started reading the books — although the earliest ones I read were (illustrator-wise) a mixture of Joseph Abbey, Treyer Evans, Mary Gernat and Jenny Chapple! :lol: Somehow or other, I just got my own clear picture in my head of what all the characters looked like, which didn't quite resemble any of the various illustrators' versions, and went with that. So it didn't matter much to me what they looked like in the pictures in the books, and still doesn't really.
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
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Rob Houghton
Posts: 16029
Joined: 26 Feb 2005, 22:38
Favourite book/series: Rubadub Mystery, Famous Five and The Find-Outers
Favourite character: Snubby, Uncle Robert, George, Fatty
Location: Kings Norton, Birmingham

Re: Find-Outers Illustrators Comparisons

Post by Rob Houghton »

As always, I'm somewhere in the middle. I did always notice the illustrations - drank them in, so to speak - but I still formed my own image of the characters. None of them completely match the illustrations, no matter who drew them. The exception, as I said earlier, were Derek Lucas's Secret Seven. I'd never seen any other depictions until I was around 21 so it was hard to shake off - especially as the original illustrations were quite bland character-wise and everyone looked the same!
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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