By W Heath Robinson
Publisher: Duckworth Overlook
ISBN: 978-0-7156-3814-9
Usually Heath Robinson collections seem to dwell on his marvellous machines and convoluted contraptions, so Geoffrey Beare, the editor, has taken a slightly different approach and gathered together the illustrations showing a nation at leisure, from aquatic golf to gardening. You're left in no doubt that these are Heath Robinson cartoons as they all carry the trademark absurdity and exemplary execution you'd expect. There's an awful lot in here, and that's taking into consideration that they average one illustration per page, and there's also a fair bit of repetition (aquatic golf, for example is revisited a number of times, but always from a slightly different angle) but the ideas are so appealing, the situations so engaging and the drawing so remarkable that it doesn't spoil the read. My particular favourite is an illustration broken up into horizontal panels featuring a young boy asleep in bed. Two burglars appear at the window and break in, but get side-tracked by the boy's toys at the foot of the bed. The boy awakens to discover them only to join them in their play. The father discovers the scene, but before he can take action he's distracted too, followed by a policeman who has spotted the ladder, resulting in a shocked discovery of a busy bedroom floor by mother. A gem.
And if you liked that: Try Heath Robinson – Inventions, also printed by Duckworth, albeit a few years ago now.
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