Harold Jones (22 February 1904 – 1992) was a British artist,
illustrator and writer of
children's books
A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...
. Critic
Brian Alderson (children's book critic)
Brian Alderson (born 1930) is an author, translator, critic, and children's book historian. He has translated fairy tales, is a contributor to ''Books for Keeps'' and was children's books editor for ''The Times''. He founded the Children's Books H ...
called him "perhaps the most original children's book illustrator of the period". He established his reputation with
lithographs illustrating ''This Year: Next Year'' (1937), a collection of verses by
Walter de la Mare
Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for a highly acclaimed selection of ...
.
Jones was born in London and studied illustration there from 1920 at
Goldsmiths College
Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...
, under
Edmund Sullivan
Edmund Joseph Sullivan (1869–1933), usually known as E. J. Sullivan, was a British book illustrator who worked in a style which merged the British tradition of illustration from the 1860s with aspects of Art Nouveau.
Life
Sullivan was th ...
, a former teacher of
Arthur Rackham
Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, ...
; at the
Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts in 1922–1923; and then on scholarship at the
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...
.
Jones's most acclaimed work was ''Lavender's Blue: A book of nursery rhymes'' (1954), a collection of
nursery rhymes
A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes.
From t ...
named for one of them, "
Lavender's Blue
"Lavender's Blue" (also called "Lavender Blue") is an English folk song and nursery rhyme from the 17th century. Its Roud Folk Song Index number is 3483. It has been recorded in various forms and some pop versions have been hits in the U.S. and ...
". The British
Library Association awarded Jones "Special Commendation" for the 1954
Carnegie Medal, which recognised the year's outstanding children's book written by a
British subject; it provided a "major reason" for the organisation to establish its companion
Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration that year (1955). ''Lavender's Blue'', published in the U.S. by
Franklin Watts in 1956,
was named a
Notable Book by the
American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...
and to the
Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
The Lewis Carroll Shelf Award was an American literary award conferred on several books annually by the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education annually from 1958 to 1979. Award-winning books were deemed to "belong on the same shelf" ...
list in 1960.
The largest public archive of Harold Jones's papers and illustrations is at
Seven Stories
Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books is a museum and visitor centre dedicated to children's literature and based in the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle upon Tyne, close to the city's regenerated Quayside. The renovated Victorian ...
, National Centre for Children's Books (deposited by the Harold Jones estate in 2005). Other of Harold Jones's papers, deposited from 1966 to 1980, are in the
de Grummond Children's Literature Collection
The McCain Library and Archives is the chief reserve library for The University of Southern Mississippi. It houses the items in Southern Mississippi's possession that are not available for checkout. Besides being the archives, the building also h ...
at the
University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...
.
Selected works
Written and illustrated by Harold Jones
*''The Visit to the Farm'' (1939)
*''The Enchanted Night'' (1947)
*''The Childhood of Jesus'' (1964)
*''There and Back Again'' (1977)
*''Tales from Aesop'' (1981)
*''The Forest: Peep Show'' (1981)
*''A Happy Christmas'' (1983)
*''Tales to Tell'' (1984)
Books by other authors, illustrated by Harold Jones
*
Mary Evelyn Atkinson – ''August Adventure'' (1936)
*Walter de la Mare – ''This Year, Next Year'' (1937)
*C.S. Lewis – ''
Out of the Silent Planet'' (1938)
*M. E. Atkinson - ''The Compass Points North'' (1938)
*M. E. Atkinson - ''Crusoe Island (1941)''
*M. E. Atkinson - ''Going Gangster (1942)''
*John Pudney – ''Elegy for Tom Riding'' (1947)
*M. E. Atkinson - ''Smugglers' Gap'' (1947)
*
Kathleen Lines – ''Four to Fourteen: A Library of Books for Children'' (1950)
*Kathleen Lines – ''Lavender’s Blue: A Book of Nursery Rhymes'' (1954)
*Kathleen Lines ''- Once in Royal David’s City: A Picture Book of the Nativity'' (1956)
*Henry A. Fagan - ''Ninya, A Fantasy of a Strange Little World'' (1956). May only be dust jacket illustration.
*Donald Suddaby – ''Prisoners of Saturn: An Interplanetary Adventure'' (1957)
*William Blake – ''Songs of Innocence'' (1958)
*Kathleen Lines – ''A Ring of Tales'' (1958)
*Elfrida Vipont – ''Bless This Day: A Book of Prayer for Children'' (1958)
*Kathleen Lines – ''Jack and the Beanstalk: A Book of Nursery Stories'' (1960)
*Kathleen Lines – ''Noah and the Ark'' (1961)
*Charles Kingsley – ''The Water Babies'' (text by Kathleen Lines) (1961)
*
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
– ''Songs from Shakespeare'' (1961)
*
Robert Browning – ''The Pied Piper of Hamelin'' (1962)
*''Five Little Pigs'' (Warren Editions, 1974)
*Lewis Carroll – ''The Hunting of the Snark'' (1975)
*Oscar Wilde – ''The Fairy Stories of Oscar Wilde'' (1976)
*Paul Ries Collin - ''Calling Bridge'' (1976)
*Ruth Manning-Sanders – ''The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse: Aesop’s Fable Retold'' (1977)
*Penelope Lively – ''
The Voyage of QV66'' (1978)
*Naomi Lewis – ''The Silent Playmate (or The Magic Doll) – A Collection of Doll Stories'' (1979)
*Harold Jacobs – ''Silver Bells and Cockle Shells: A Bunby Adventure'' (1979)
Books by other authors, with dust jacket illustrations by Harold Jones
*