Kay Nixon
(Kathleen Irene Blundell-Nixon)
(1895-1988)
British children's author, painter, muralist, illustrator and poster artist.
Kay Nixon was trained at Camden and Birmingham Schools of Art and after her marriage (becoming Mrs. Blundell) lived in India for 25 years. In India she made illustrations for the Time of India Press and designed some 30 posters for the Indian State Railways.
Returning to England her career was to be mostly in illustrating some of the most lovely animal books: "Bird families", "Animal mothers and babies", "Animal Legends" Books on "Pushti" and "Pindy Poo". And she worked with famous Enid Blyton.
Kathleen Nixon illustrated the interior of The Animal Book (Dust wrapper illustration by Ernest Aris), The Adventures of Binkle and Flip (Newnes 1938) and The Enid Blyton Book of Bunnies (Newnes 1925). She also created illustrations for Blyton's The Boys' and Girls' Annual and The Boys And Girls Story Book Number 2 (both published by News Chronicle).
Images below by Katherine Nixon (L-R) The Enid Blyton Book of Bunnies (Newnes 1925), The Trail of the Caribou in watercolour.
Well, that's good to know she was definitely Kathleen - obviously the title page of the book I've just bought had a misprint.
Lovely photo of her, and she certainly had a good long life. I would love to see her Indian railway posters!
Society Member
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)
"What a lot of trouble one avoids if one refuses to have anything to do with the common herd. To have no job, to devote ones life to literature, is the most wonderful thing in the world. - Cicero