Airways 1939

This is a slim pictorial board covered, large format picture book for children published by Blackie in 1939. There are 13 colour illustrations (including the cover) and most of them bear the signature of T E North who has been identified as Thomas Edward North (1916-1985), a lifelong resident of Hull - his career has been well documented at Bear Alley Books. Airways is the earliest example of his illustration work I’ve seen, all the more remarkable for having been produced at the age of 23.  How North broke into the world of book illustration is an unknown story but he did well to find his work published by the illustrious firm of Blackie. Unlike most of his contemporaries, North was unafraid to experiment with unusual angles and unorthodox compositions in search of visual dynamics.  There’s a formal crispness and clarity that wouldn’t be seen in his post-war production.  When his career resumed after war service in the RAF he seems to have specialised in transport related material in ever smaller formats, mass produced pocket sized books for children. The illustration style is conventional for the period - descriptive but nothing more. At the end are two examples of card covered illustrated books and a jigsaw - whether the latter were based on new material or recycled images from books would be interesting to know.