Mary Gernat
- Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Mary Gernat
I'm surprised The Six Bad Boys is not now called The Six Misunderstood Children, who go round tickling people with feathers!
Going back to Mary Gernat, she did two covers for quite a few of the Find-Outers titles, including these vivid and evocative covers for The Mystery of the Missing Man. My copy, which I've had since childhood, has the second of the two designs:
Going back to Mary Gernat, she did two covers for quite a few of the Find-Outers titles, including these vivid and evocative covers for The Mystery of the Missing Man. My copy, which I've had since childhood, has the second of the two designs:
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
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"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
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Re: Mary Gernat
I agree, Anita. They are not "bad boys", just misunderstood children with behavioural issues.
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- Courtenay
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Re: Mary Gernat
You mean, like these ones?Moonraker wrote:I agree, Anita. They are not "bad boys", just misunderstood children with behavioural issues.
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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)
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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Re: Mary Gernat
I don't know if anybody has noticed but there is some Mary Gernat artwork for sale on ebay at the moment.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221782701109? ... EBIDX%3AIT" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I'm sorry but I should have read the description before posting as this is just a print of the artwork and not the actual thing!!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221782701109? ... EBIDX%3AIT" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I'm sorry but I should have read the description before posting as this is just a print of the artwork and not the actual thing!!
- Lucky Star
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Re: Mary Gernat
Interesting that it is her child selling it. I wonder if there are others for sale. It's lovely but £35 is a bit steep for me to pay for a print. I suppose an original would be much more. Thanks for the link Tony.
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Re: Mary Gernat
It's a nice print, and it's on good watercolour paper too. Not a bad price for a print. I have friends who sell their prints for much more than £35.
Julian gave an exclamation and nudged George.
"See that? It's the black Bentley again. KMF 102!"
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"See that? It's the black Bentley again. KMF 102!"
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- Courtenay
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Re: Mary Gernat
Very interesting! I assume that the seller is Roger, Mary Gernat's son, who contacted us some months ago about his plans to produce prints of his mother's artwork - this is from the first post in this thread...
I'm not interested in St Clare's, having not read the books (though it looks like a very good print at a reasonable price), but I might be interested in some of the other book covers, if Roger is selling prints of them as well.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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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)
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)
Re: Mary Gernat
Then may I suggest you do so?Courtenay wrote: I'm not interested in St Clare's, having not read the books
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- Courtenay
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Re: Mary Gernat
Why should I?
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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)
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)
- Julie2owlsdene
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Re: Mary Gernat
I always say that before you knock something you should try it first.
I'm not into fantasy books, such as Faraway Tree etc. But I couldn't knock it, as I hadn't read it. So I did try and read it and tried to persevere, but I just couldn't get into it, and I did read half the book, so I now know I can safely say, I don't like this sort of book.
I'm not into fantasy books, such as Faraway Tree etc. But I couldn't knock it, as I hadn't read it. So I did try and read it and tried to persevere, but I just couldn't get into it, and I did read half the book, so I now know I can safely say, I don't like this sort of book.
Julian gave an exclamation and nudged George.
"See that? It's the black Bentley again. KMF 102!"
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"See that? It's the black Bentley again. KMF 102!"
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Re: Mary Gernat
I agree the St Clare's books are well worth reading. I think I prefer them slightly to the Malory Towers books. Mind you, I also love the Faraway Tree books...but realize that my taste for Enid Blyton's is all-encompassing as there really isn't a genre she wrote that I don't like. Maybe I'm just not very discerning!
'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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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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- Poppy
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Re: Mary Gernat
All Enid Blyton's Boarding School stories are so different, in my opinion - it's hard to choose a favourite, but the St.Clares series definitely are great books! Pat and Isabel are fascinating characters, and although, on first impressions they aren't very likable, it's great to see them progressively improving throughout the series. There's a couple of books by Pamela Cox, which fill in the missed out year groups, too, which I would also recommend. I particularly enjoyed Kitty at St Clares which involved a couple of very entertaining tricks!
"Beware of young men with long hair - that's what dad says, isn't it?"
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Re: Mary Gernat
Mary Gernat
http://www.theartofenidblyton.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;If you would like to see some of the book covers illustrated by Mary Gernat, you can find the books in the box on the floor in the corner at Picture Perfect, Barnes Farm Business Park, Milford on Sea, or at http://www.theartofenidblyton.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.hampshire-life.co.uk/out-abo ... _1_4289416" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;I stumbled upon this treasure trove when I went to visit local picture framer, Roger How. As a lover of anything remotely ‘Blytonesque’, I was intrigued as to what this lot was doing on the floor…if there’s one thing that appeals to the jaded palette of us baby boomers it’s a peek back to the past - those happy, care free days of childhood adventures and the big outdoors.
“Mary Gernat was my mum,” said Roger. “She lived and worked in Lymington and illustrated over one hundred and twenty book covers for authors such as Enid Blyton, Monica Edwards, Richmal Crompton, Captain W. E. Johns, Frank Richards and the Pullein-Thompson sisters. My family is now the fortunate owners of the copyright of all the illustrations.”
See also:
http://www.monicaedwards.co.uk/mg.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;In 2015 I was contacted by Roger How, one of Mary's sons, who told me that a large number of his mother's 'roughs' for original cover art had been discovered in a drawer, including the original drafts for Cargo of Horses, Fire in the Punchbowl, and Spirit of Punchbowl Farm.
This confirmed what had been suspected, that these were, indeed, the work of his mother. I have my suspicions about others, and there may well be more corrections that have to be made as we learn more from Mary's original drafts.
The 'rough' for Cargo of Horses is shown at the bottom of the page.
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