Bill Peckmann &Books &Daily post &Illustration 18 May 2012 06:01 am
Keith Ward Sampler
Keith Ward is an illustrator whose work was highly admired by Rowland B. Wilson who introduced it to Bill Peckmann. Bill introduced it to me, and I’m posting this sampler here. We’d originally posted xerox copies of some of these, but the following material comes directly from the printed page. Here’s Bill to take over the post:
- Here’s a treat for all fans of illustrator Keith Ward. It’s with of the kind generosity of knowledgeable collector Denis Wheary that we can scan some of the pages of Ward’s children’s books that were done during the period of 1930 to 1952.
Born in 1906, Keith Ward is one of the stellar illustrators of the 20th century. A true renaissance man, he touched all the bases of art, whether fine or commercial. In the field of illustration, he deftly rounded the bags with his book, editorial magazine and advertising art. His 1945 book illustrations were said to be the inspirations of a Disney feature. (More of that in the second post.) Borden’s “Elsie the Cow” was Keith’s unsigned classic for us kids growing up in the ’40′s and ’50′s.
1The following pages of “Jolly Animals” is from 1930,
done when Ward was only 24 years old, amazing!
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Even KW’s inside end covers of “Jolly Animals” are worth studying!
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“Muggins Mouse” from 1932. We posted this book already, but
those were color photo copies and harsh Xerox copies of the B&W pages.
So here are a few cherry picked B & W pages to show
what the softness of the original book looked like.
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“Muggins Mouse” inside end cover.
Here are two pocket sized hardcover books also from 1932.
Here are a few beautiful chapter headings and pages from these two tiny marvels.
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on 18 May 2012 at 4:18 pm 1.Suzanne Wilson said …
They are not just magical–they’re archetypes!
It makes you long for a simpler era, when there was enough time to embellish a book with amazing end-papers, such as #19. And when this charming art was all around you, in advertisements and books.
Thank you, Michael!
Thank you, Bill!
Thank you, Denis!
Thank you, Keith Ward!
on 18 Sep 2019 at 2:26 pm 2.Frank Shortt said …
Have collected Keith Ward works for many years. I used to correspond with him. Thank you for all these wonderful examples of his work!