Saturday 1 July 2017

Raymond Sheppard and Gunby Hadath (Part Two)

In the previous blog article I outlined Gunby Hadath's biography and showed a few of Raymond Sheppard's accompanying illustrations to his 6 part story which began in April 1940 edition of the Boy's Own Paper.



Here are the remainder of illustrations accompanying the story "In search of a kingdom" by Gunby Hadath spread over 6 months of Boy's Own Paper. It's interesting to note not only Sheppard's technique here (almost a negative of a scraperboard technique) but also the way in which the editor decided to wrap text around the images - something so much easier to do now in the age of computers, than back then! The full page wash of St. Bernard is incredible as it stands out in the whole run and considering paper shortages during the war gives testimony to the esteem in which Sheppard was held.

MAY 1940
Boy's Own Paper May 1940 p.357
"He dropped his hand on the gunwale of Michael's light skiff
 and tilted it forward to let the water pour in" 

Boy's Own Paper May 1940 p.358
"Glancing about as he went, he discerned de Bellecombe 
 seated by himself on a bench "

Boy's Own Paper May 1940 p.360-361
"They were joined by a forester who was leading a mule 
in the shafts of a two-wheeled cart"
Boy's Own Paper May 1940 p.366
Donkey and cart

JUNE 1940

Boy's Own Paper June 1940 p.406 
Greitmann leaned forward across the table. He looked straight at de Varges.
"I have no use for braggarts", he said
Boy's Own Paper June 1940 p.409
The brigand chief was leaning against that column,
with his arms folded, jeering at St Bernard
Boy's Own Paper June 1940 p.413
A man, with one arm twisted under him and unconscious
Boy's Own Paper June 1940 p.415
A St. Bernard dog


JULY 1940

Boy's Own Paper July 1940 p.439
"Above the town the ancient chateau was frowning"
Boy's Own Paper July 1940 p.444-445
" Even as the young chasseur bent his knees for the throw
Michael's arms were exerting a fierce downward pressure on his hip-bones"
Boy's Own Paper July 1940 p.447"Michael took the plunge. “I'm being chased, sir”, he said,
“by some scoundrels who want to get rid of me”" 

Boy's Own Paper July 1940 p.449"Colonel St. Armaund"
 AUGUST 1940
Boy's Own Paper August 1940 p.469" He had wrangled a lift with the baggage and slept like a top"

Boy's Own Paper August 1940 p.471"When Michael's turn came to slake his thirst from the gourd
he found the water quite warm"

Boy's Own Paper August 1940 p.474
"Dubois, Sergeant of Chasseurs"

Boy's Own Paper August 1940 p.477
"You refuse!" gasped Simon Greitmann"
SEPTEMBER 1940
Boy's Own Paper September 1940 p.494
"Here he was with the compartment to himself...while poor Antoine..." 
Boy's Own Paper September 1940 p.497
"The innkeeper bowed low as Michael came up"



Boy's Own Paper September 1940 p.498-499
" Numbers of them were shaking their fists as they screamed"

Boy's Own Paper September 1940 p.501

Although I have not found any more Gunby Hadath tales that Sheppard illustrated in Boy's Own Paper, Sheppard did illustrate a book, Blue Berets, and that raised an interesting issue.

I have a copy,  with no dustjacket, and remembered there were illustrations in it, but until looking at it for purposes of finishing this article, I had not realised - and there is no clue in the book - that this is in fact "In search of a kingdom", published one year later by Lutterworth (who at the time owned the Boy's Own Paper!
So I might as well list the differences and satisfy my complete cataloguing fetish!

BLUE BERETS

The following illustrations appear in the book on the following pages with their corresponding months in BOP:
Page 10: see April p.307
Page 48: (no caption) see May p.357
Pages 68-69: (no caption) see May p.360-361
Page 83: (no caption) see May p.366
Page 94: see June p.406
Page 142: Caption changed to "Above the town frowned the ancient chateau" see July p.442
Page 161: (no caption) see July p.447
Page 189: (no caption) see August p.474
Page 224: (no caption) see September p.494
Page 243: Caption changed to "It was Perigord, his host, white-headed and rubicund" see September p.497
Page 253: (no caption) see August p.469


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