William Heath Robinson remains one of Britain’s best-loved illustrators and has embedded himself into English vernacular, inspiring the phrase ‘it’s all a bit Heath Robinson’ to describe any precarious or unnecessarily complex contraption. Born in London, he originally had ambitions to be a landscape painter, but would establish his artistic reputation as a book illustrator during the genre’s so-called golden age. It was his association with weekly illustrated magazine The Sketch that was to launch and cement his legacy as a humorous artist. Combining a distinctive draughtsmanship with a curious and ingenious mind, the advent of the First World War inspired Heath Robinson to dream up a series of increasingly outlandish and bizarre military inventions with which the opposing armies would try to outwit each other. From the Kaiser’s campaigning car or a suggestion for an armoured bayonet curler, to post-war ‘unbullying’ of beef, his cartoons are a fantastically absurd take on wartime technology and home-front life. Sadly, his inventions were rejected by a (fictitious) ‘Inventions Board’, but the charm and eccentricity of his ideas was loved by the public and he remains to this day one of the finest exponents of humorous British art. AUTHOR: Lucinda Gosling studied history at the University of Liverpool and has worked in the picture library industry since 1993. She managed the magazine archive of the Illustrated London News before moving to be historical specialist Mary Evans Picture Library in 2007. With a wide interest in a number of historical subjects including royalty, costume, illustration and the Great War, Luci has contributed to variety of publications including History Today, Majesty and Illustration magazine. Her book, ‘Brushes & Bayonets’ exploring the First World War through the cartoons & illustrations in the ILN archive was published by Osprey in 2008. Away from writing, Luci enjoys cooking and running. She lives in London with her husband and three children. SELLING POINTS: . First ever book to focus on Heath Robinson and his First World War cartoons . From his Kaiser’s campaigning car to his idea for Cat-moo-flage to protect civilians from air raids
his cartoons are a fantastical take on the technology of the First World War . This beautiful gift book will delight any First World War enthusiast 20 colour illustrations
