St. William’s College, York – Edgar Hodges (Oxford A4 graph paper pad)
It turns out I’m not alone in remembering, admiring and being influenced by the Oxford A4 pad illustrations of Edgar Hodges. When I mentioned it at the latest Inside Out notebook meeting, it turned out that most people there knew the drawings and had no idea who had done them.
And I had a surprise for everyone who remembered them, too: Edgar Hodges has been in touch! He recalls doing the A4 pad illustrations, but says that it was a very short commission – when the company changed the look of their line, they no longer wanted any further illustrations from him. He’s retired, but still paints and draws, and also makes maritime models. He was very gracious in his reply, and I think a little surprised that anyone had bothered to track him down.
So, to wrap up the story so far, here’s another one of Edgar’s great line illustrations from an Oxford graph paper pad.
Brilliant that you’ve tracked him down, John. The wonder of the internet in connecting people.
On a much more pragmatic note, what I miss most (as a writer) from the stationery of twenty or thirty years ago is the quality of the paper. I spend a lot of time now tracking down paper you can actually use both sides of – and that’s pleasant to write on. Recently I ended up buying a spiral-bound sketch pad, just to get a decent writing book.
aahhh – know the feeling Jane!
And annoyingly, I even have trouble finding inexpensive A6 unlined notebooks – just little pocket sketch/memo books. Either they’re over fussy and so costly you hesitate to scribble in them, or they’re so cheap they don’t last.