Another in the long series of small books for children distributed free of charge by Colman’s of Norwich, Mustardman Ready. Our dapper seafarer sails to distant lands where his cargo of Colman’s products restores the health of the local despot, transforming King Krosspatch into King Kontent and fortuitously, opening up a new export market for British-made Mustard, Starch and Krusto. An inspiring tale of entrepreneurial economics. It turns out that Colman’s Krusto was a pastry-maker that with the addition of water produced a perfect pie crust and thanks to the East Anglian Film Archive (EAFA) we can all watch a 7 minute promotional film from 1928 where Krusto comes to the rescue of an uxorious husband and a desperate-to-please spouse. A dismal succession of granite-like baked offerings that even the dog rejects is brought to an end by the entry of a sophisticated friend who brings Krusto into the unhappy household. The resulting pie is a triumph and domestic harmony is restored. The EAFA is worth exploring for more treasures from the strange world of Colman’s publicity – the Mustard Club film is a riotous celebration of gluttony – Bunuel at the Bullingdon Club.
2 comments:
I love the colourful innocent artwork of the period , with no artist's name of course. Re Waverley Oats, I don't suppose you have ever come across an American booklet: "The Story of a Rolled Oat, which traced a single rolled oat's adventures from field to breakfast table? I had no idea what a rolled oat was but loved this book, a class reader at primary school when books were just not available after WWI. S Berris
Thank you for your comment. As it happens I have a copy of Travels of a Rolled Oat published by Quaker Oats UK for distribution to schools - most of the story takes place in Canada and it begins and ends in Sweden. I also have The Good Oat - it follows the format of a Picture Puffin and features colour illustrations by S R Badmin. It's another Quaker Oats production. It might be a subject for a future post.
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