A 'RADIO TIMES' CHRISTMAS

Remember those days in the Twentieth Century when the arrival of the Christmas Issue (later 'Bumper Issue') of Radio Times signaled the true beginning of seasonal festivities? 

Historically, Radio Times was always a showcase for the work of some of the finest graphic and illustrative artists of the age and examples of their work is showcased in this very personal selection of classic covers from before-my-time, but by artists whose work I love – John Gilroy (he of the classic Guinness posters), Rex Whistler, Edward Ardizzone and Eric Fraser; from my childhood and adolescent years – C. Walter Hodges, J. S. Goodall, Ronald Searle, Rowland Hilder, Victor Reinganum and, again of course, Eric Fraser; and, lastly, from more recent years – the impeccable art of Tony Meeuwissen and a wonderful cavalcade of Santas and Snowmen by my friend, Mick Brownfield. 

Among the later are his Father Christmas and Dalek cover and the alternative variant Strictly Come Dancing version for families with tiny tots who were scared of Doctor Who's inter-galactic, mechanical nemesis!

 Rex Whistler, 1931

Edward Ardizzone, 1932

 

John Gilroy, 1940 

 

J. S. Goodall, 1946

Ronald Searle, 1947

 Edward Ardizzone, 1948

 

 Eric Fraser, 1949

C. Walter Hodges, 1950

 

Rowland Hilder, 1951

(inspired by The Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1965)

 

J. S. Goodall, 1953 

 

 

Monica Walker, 1956 
  

James Hart, 1957 

Eric Fraser, 1958

 Victor Reinganum, 1959

 

Eric Fraser, 1962

 

Tony Meeuwissen, 1970

 

Mick Brownfield, 1991 

 

Mick Brownfield, 1993

 

 Mick Brownfield, 1993 

Mick Brownfield, 1995

 

Mick Brownfield, 1997

 

 Mick Brownfield, 2009

 

Mick Brownfield, 2009 (variant) 

 

 

ERIC FRASER'S 'Radio Times' art for the BBC's THE LORD OF THE RINGS

 

This post is for all you aficionados of the BBC 1981 radio serialisation of The Lord of the Rings who have been following my six-monthly Blog and Facebook journey across the original twenty-six weekly episodes as they were first broadcast on Sundays from 8 March to 30 August, forty years ago.

Here, all in one place, is the complete set of Eric Fraser's black-and-white illustrations made to accompany the credits to the weekly episodes in the BBC's listings magazine, Radio Times. 

All images, except that for the second episode ('The Shadow of the Past'), are reproduced from Fraser's original art now in my collection; in this one instance, the image used was scanned from its printed reproduction in Radio Times. (I would, incidentally, be grateful for any information about the ownership of this 'missing' piece!)

The three images made for episodes 15-17 ('The Voice of Saruman', 'The Black Gate is Closed' and 'The Window on the West') are published on this blog for the very first time since, during that three week period, there was an industrial dispute at the print-works responsible for producing Radio Times and the magazine was issued only in an slimmed-down emergency format with few, if any, illustrations. The additional image at the top of this post was a generic design Fraser made featuring Gandalf, Frodo and Sam which was used on the BBC souvenir poster for the series and, subsequently, as a decoration for the box containing the cassette-tape release of the recordings. 

 

1.  The Long-awaited Party

 

 

2.  The Shadow of the Past

 

3.  The Black Riders

 

4. Trouble at the Prancing Pony

5. The Knife in the Dark

 

6. The Council of Elrond

 

7. The Fellowship of the Ring

 

8. The Mines of Moria

 

9. The Mirror of Galadriel

 

10. The Breaking of the Fellowship

 

11. The Riders of Rohan

 

12. Treebeard of Fangorn

 

13. The King of the Golden Hall

 

14. Helm’s Deep

 

15. The Voice of Saruman

 

16. The Black Gate is Closed 

 

17. The Window on the West

 

18. Minas Tirith

 

19. Shelob’s Lair

 

20. The Siege of Gondor

 

21. The Battle of Pelennor Fields

 

22. The Houses of Healing

 

23. Mount Doom

 

24. The Return of the King

 

25. Homeward Bound

 

26. The Grey Havens