Saturday 20 June 2009

My Ladybird Picture Puzzle

I love vintage Ladybird Books and if I find one at a carboot or CS it makes my day a weency bit special. My favourite is the 606D Fairytale books, but since I completed that collection I have turned to other ranges to become obsessed with. This is the 401 range, the Animal Rhymes collection dating back from the 1940s. So..... I was out one summer morning carbooting and came across this rather large picture. Immediately I recognised some of my favourite characters, the Green Umbrella rabbit being the most obvious and couldn't understand why nobody else had snapped it up? So after a bit of wrangling I paid the princely sum of £5 and tried to contain my excitement as I trekked back to the car.It is very well framed and for the life of me I can't tell whether this is a print or an original? HOWEVER - the artist's signature is Margaret Tarrent and as far as I know she didn't illustrate these books, it was mainly A J MacGregor. So what gives? Either this is a fake, but why bother signing it with her name? Is it an original print with a fake signature? Or is it a Margaret Tarrent tribute to AJ MacGregor? It's a mystery and I can't get to the bottom of it! Regardless, it's a beautiful picture for the playroom and whoever painted it, it makes me smile. Finally I really want to thank Beki at The Ramblings of an Everyday Mummy and Mandy at Live Laugh & Love for the Awards they have given to me - thank you friends, how lovely you are. If you haven't yet been to their blogs you must you must!!!!! And etiquette dictates I now pass this to 6 deserved blogs - which they all are of course - but these are a few that inspired me to blog and encourage me to keep blogging. TTFNxxx

8 comments:

  1. That's a real mystery because it looks like A.J.Macgregor's illustrations!!
    It's a wonderful find though!
    Thanks so much for the award..a lovely surprise!
    ;-)

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  2. Thanks Fleur for the award and the sentiments behind it, very much appreciated. Glad you do keep blogging as you're a good place to visit.

    From memory I thought Margaret Tarrant painted fairies. Maybe AJMacgregor was on holiday so she stepped in. It's gorgeous, I also hanker after a Molly Brett or two.

    Lisa x

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  3. It looks like you have a pretty fabulous Ladybird book collection... mine is growing slowly and like you I jump for joy when I find one at a car boot or in a charity shop!

    Thank you so much for my award

    Victoria xxx

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  4. Oh I used to have The Bunney-fluffs moving day when I was little and loved it, great picture
    twiggy x

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  5. Thanks for stopping by my place ;)You have a wonderful collection of children's books indeed! Congrats on the blog award too!

    Sandy xox

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  6. Oh, thanks so much for this award, and for pointing it out to me! I am rather busy at the moment...

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  7. Thank you so much for the award - it's the first one for my new blog!

    Love the picture whoever it's by!

    Jayne

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  8. Love that Victorian card!!!!!

    P.S. OK, so I found the plastic nursery hanger from when I was teeny, heeee!! I know you understand the glee.

    My mother is cleaning out the basement and I brought a load of stuff back and when I saw it I just yelped, my husband thought I had found a cache of diamonds!!

    I should post a wee photo of it!

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