In St Alban’s Museum for the rest of the summer is a delightful exhibition about the history of Ladybird books. These books were an essential part of my childhood. At 2/6d they were attainable if one saved one’s pocket money for a few weeks and many children had a sizeable collection.
We are talking here about a period of time running from the late 1940s to the late 1970s, a time of great change in many ways. The cost of these books was kept down by making them from one piece of paper, printed on both sides, then folded and cut.
My favourite series within the oeuvre was the nature books. I still have the three books of British Birds, the book of wildflowers and of British wild animals. The most precious group to me were the ‘What to look for’ series, covering all four seasons of the year. The exhibition focussed on the group of artists who worked for Ladybird over the decades; skilled artists with diverse experience and a variety of styles but all with the ability to make their work accessible and attractive to children.
Much social history is involved in this exhibition, particularly with regard to female roles. Eventually Ladybird stopped having pictures of little girls looking up adoringly at brothers climbing trees, or girls riding ponies in white skirts! (without hard hats.)
The fonts employed in the books was an interesting aside. It reminded me of how we were encouraged to write at school in the 1950s with tall capital letters and long ascenders and descenders.
Ladybird Books still exist but now as an imprint of Penguin Random House. The original production works at Angel Yard in Loughborough closed many years ago and is now just remembered with a plaque.