The British
Will be published approx. on 15. December 2011
Book
Hardback
192 pages
978-0-7156-3980-1 (ISBN)
Description
A fondness for laughing at our own anecdotes. An assertion of the importance of tea. A weakness for oak beams. A keen interest in the weather. A tendency to 'become doggy'. The British haven't changed much since the 1930s, when Pont's first witty and hilarious observations on the national character appeared in Punch magazine.
Pont's plump rolling-pin wielding cooks and solar-topee'd imperialists capture a distinct moment in British inter-war history, but his observations of character are timeless. In the nursery, at the opera, or in the bath, in tweed or tennis whites or bowler hat, Pont conjures distinct, complete personalities with a few strokes of his pen.
Charming, idiosyncratic and - above all - wonderfully funny, this unforgettable collection will bring Pont's extraordinary talent to a new generation of fans.
Pont's plump rolling-pin wielding cooks and solar-topee'd imperialists capture a distinct moment in British inter-war history, but his observations of character are timeless. In the nursery, at the opera, or in the bath, in tweed or tennis whites or bowler hat, Pont conjures distinct, complete personalities with a few strokes of his pen.
Charming, idiosyncratic and - above all - wonderfully funny, this unforgettable collection will bring Pont's extraordinary talent to a new generation of fans.
Reviews / Votes
'Includes Pont's most famous sequence, The British Character, in which, with beautiful wit, he illustrated national characteristics prevalent at the time... Some of Pont's cartoons seem amazingly prescient, almost as though they had been drawn only yesterday' Craig Brown, Daily Mail 'Pont's penmanship is an appealing mixture of rough, scribbly shading, block black shadows, and exquisitely fine detail in the right places' Guardian 'Like the best moderns he infuses character into every curve of a rump or tilt of an eyebrow, adding tiny jokes in every corner' Libby Purves 'Pont specialised in portraying the English middle classes, and most of his jokes are still as pointful today as they were in the Thirties ... brilliantly observant drawings' Oldie 'Tremendously popular ...hilarious and brilliantly observed work' Sunday Express 'Pure visual comedy' IndependentMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Duckworth Books
Product notice
Laminated cover
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 185 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
340 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7156-3980-1 (9780715639801)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Pont was a pseudonym of Graham Laidler (1908-1940) derived from a nickname, Pontifex Maximus, acquired during a visit to Rome. Following his family's wishes, he trained as an architect, but by his mid-twenties he had become one of Punch's most prolific and successful cartoonists. He created over four hundred cartoons in his lifetime and published several collections, the most popular of which being The British Character, which lampoons the national foibles of the British.