Seeing Things
Published on 5. November 2009
Book
Hardback
448 pages
978-1-84767-840-9 (ISBN)
Description
Oliver Postgate's death last December was greeted with great sadness. For over forty years his name was synonymous with the best in children's television - Bagpuss, The Clangers, Ivor the Engine, The Pogles, Noggin the Nog, Pingwings. Oliver wrote and narrated the stories, while Peter Firmin illustrated the characters and made the puppets. Their classic films are still loved by viewers of all ages.
In this delicious autobiography Oliver Postgate describes how he came to create his stories and characters, developing innovative techniques of animation and puppetry alongside his friend and co-producer Peter Firmin. Amazingly, almost all of Oliver's films were made in a cowshed in Kent on a budget of next to nothing.
But the path to film-making was far from conventional, or even planned. Oliver Postgate was the grandson of George Lansbury, leader of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and his father was Raymond Postgate, who became famous as the founder and author of The Good Food Guide. Oliver followed in neither's footsteps. Before his first TV production, Alexander the Mouse in 1958, he had already been a war evacuee; a conscientious objector; a farm labourer; a relief worker in post-war Germany; an artist; an actor; and an inventor.
The story of Oliver Postgate's extraordinary and adventurous life, and the wonderful characters who populated it, both real and imagined, is witty, charming, beautifully remembered and beautifully told.
In this delicious autobiography Oliver Postgate describes how he came to create his stories and characters, developing innovative techniques of animation and puppetry alongside his friend and co-producer Peter Firmin. Amazingly, almost all of Oliver's films were made in a cowshed in Kent on a budget of next to nothing.
But the path to film-making was far from conventional, or even planned. Oliver Postgate was the grandson of George Lansbury, leader of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and his father was Raymond Postgate, who became famous as the founder and author of The Good Food Guide. Oliver followed in neither's footsteps. Before his first TV production, Alexander the Mouse in 1958, he had already been a war evacuee; a conscientious objector; a farm labourer; a relief worker in post-war Germany; an artist; an actor; and an inventor.
The story of Oliver Postgate's extraordinary and adventurous life, and the wonderful characters who populated it, both real and imagined, is witty, charming, beautifully remembered and beautifully told.
Reviews / Votes
Oliver Postgate created some of the most beautiful and understated children's television animation of the 1950s and beyond. Not only have we lost a great animator, but a singular performer and brilliant storyteller. * * Phil Jupitus * * He had a warmth and love for what he was doing and for the audience who were watching. * * Jonathan Ross * * He was one of the great storytellers on television. * * Michael Rosen * * Postgate's work has been a huge influence on me . . . Somehow, for me, [The Clangers] defines all that is cosy about childhood. From Postgate's warm, reassuring voice, to the curiously handknitted aliens, it gave me a sense that all was well with the world. * * Lauren Child * * Oliver Postgate was, for my money, the greatest children's storyteller of the last 100 years. Together, the team of Postgate and Peter Firmin were apparently incapable of creating anything less than timelessly wonderful whenever they sat down to work. * * Charlie Brooker * * Postgate had one of the most distinctive, instantly recognisable voices in television, warm, avuncular but also tinged with an otherworldly quality that suited his strange, magical stories perfectly. * * Daily Telegraph * * A wise and warm book from Britains favourite surrogate uncle, proving he's just as good at storytelling for adults as he was for children. -- Claire Sawers * * List * * Some of the funniest and most moving passages of the book describe his imprisonment as a conscientious objector during Second World War. * * London Review of Books * * Charmingly written . . . as endearing as any of Postgate's characters. -- Toby Lichtig * * Times Literary Supplement * *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Product notice
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 221 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
671 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84767-840-9 (9781847678409)
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
Persons
Oliver Postgate was born in north London in 1925. He attended several different schools including, inadvertently, Dartington Hall. He attempted several different professions before founding Smallfilms with Peter Firmin in 1957. They went on to make a multitude of children's films for television, from a cowshed near Canterbury. He died, aged 83, in Broadstairs, Kent, in December 2008.