marygernat wrote:Hi there, My name is Roger How and my mum was Mary Gernat. She was an illustrator for Enid Blyton throughout the '60s and early '70s. She was contracted to Armada and Atlantic publishers. She would receive a job to do with a vague brief, which she would then do and send off to the publishers. They would then either accept it as is or return it with suggestions as to what needed to be changed. usually so there was enough room left for the wording. Mum did nearly always the jacket covers rather than the insides.Myself and my three brothers were always being asked to pull on a rope or pretend toclimb a tree as we were her subjects.When the publishers were happy with a cover they always returned the artwork , with margin notes, and with the final printed book cover. my mum safety clipped them together where they went into a cupboard and forgotten.I am in the process of scanning them all and intend to print them using high quality pigment based inks onto cotton based Bockingford paper. I then intend to sell them through a website, still in the making, On each print would be the original artwork along side the final bookcover, in either A4 or A3.
The idea is that they would make lovely unique gifts to fans of Enid Blyton. Bearing in mind that she illustrated literaly dozens and dozens books, there will be quite a choice including, Famous Five, the Pony books, mallory towers, St. Clares, the Mystery books and many others...............thanks for reading......roger
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My favourite cover by your Mother is the one on the left:
It happens to be one of my favourite Enid Blyton stories too.
I know lots of our more mature members may possibly prefer the original hard-backed 1954 cover by Treyer Evans,but for my generation (born 1967) your Mother's cover captured the essence of the book perfectly for me and my younger brother Mike.
I own both versions of the book and to own a print of the original artwork for the paperback version would be exciting if it was financially within my reach!!
Best Wishes
Pete