Harold Jones (22 February 1904 – 1992) was a British artist,
illustrator
An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...
and writer of
children's books. Critic
Brian Alderson (children's book critic) called him "perhaps the most original children's book illustrator of the period". He established his reputation with
lithograph
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
s illustrating ''This Year: Next Year'' (1937), a collection of verses by
Walter de la Mare.
Jones was born in London and studied illustration there from 1920 at
Goldsmiths College, under
Edmund Sullivan, a former teacher of
Arthur Rackham; at the
Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts in 1922–1923; and then on scholarship at the
Royal College of Art.
Jones's most acclaimed work was ''Lavender's Blue: A book of nursery rhymes'' (1954), a collection of
nursery rhymes named for one of them, "
Lavender's Blue". The British
Library Association
The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge management, knowle ...
awarded Jones "Special Commendation" for the 1954
Carnegie Medal, which recognised the year's outstanding children's book written by a
British subject
The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...
; it provided a "major reason" for the organisation to establish its companion
Kate Greenaway Medal
The Kate Greenaway Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) ...
for illustration that year (1955). ''Lavender's Blue'', published in the U.S. by
Franklin Watts
Grolier was one of the largest American publishers of general encyclopedias, including '' The Book of Knowledge'' (1910), ''The New Book of Knowledge'' (1966), ''The New Book of Popular Science'' (1972), ''Encyclopedia Americana'' (1945), ''Acad ...
in 1956,
was named a
Notable Book by the
American Library Association and to the
Lewis Carroll Shelf Award list in 1960.
The largest public archive of Harold Jones's papers and illustrations is at
Seven Stories, 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 at the
University of Southern Mississippi.
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
Mary Evelyn Frankau, née Atkinson (20 June 1899 in London – 20 July 1974), writing as M. E. Atkinson, was a prolific English children’s writer.
She was best known for her series on the Lockett family Series - children's adventure stories ...
– ''August Adventure'' (1936)
*Walter de la Mare – ''This Year, Next Year'' (1937)
*C.S. Lewis – ''
Out of the Silent Planet
''Out of the Silent Planet'' is a science fiction novel by the British author C. S. Lewis, first published in 1938 by John Lane, The Bodley Head. Two sequels were published in 1943 and 1945, completing the ''Space Trilogy''.
Plot
While on a ...
'' (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
Kathleen Mary Lines (24 September 1902 – 24 December 1988) was a book critic, editor, anthologist and librarian from Canada. – ''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 – ''Songs from Shakespeare'' (1961)
*
Robert Browning
Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...
– ''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
''The Voyage of QV66'' is a children's novel by Penelope Lively. It is set in a strange, flooded, somewhat post-apocalyptic England devoid of people, and centres on a group of animals consisting of a dog, a cat, a cow, a horse, a pigeon, and a my ...
'' (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
*
H. G. Wells - ''Star Begotten'' (UK edition)
* H. G. Wells - ''The Brothers'' (UK edition)
*H. G. Wells - ''The Croquet Player'' (UK edition)
References
External links
Kathleen Lines at JacketFlap
* (mainly previous page of browse report, as 'Jones, Harold, 1904–' without '1992')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Harold
English illustrators
English children's writers
British children's book illustrators
20th-century illustrators of fairy tales
1904 births
1992 deaths