Cheeky Chap

I've mentioned before my intention to write a 'chapbook' version of James Tankard's piratical adventures. Chapbooks were the first form of pulp literature sold by pedlars door to door around the country. The surprise for me, was that literacy was so high as to fuel a market like this, but in fact the majority of people from all walks of life learned to read, even if their commitment to working on the land, or in the house, prevented their progress to learning how to write the letters they had studied so diligently.

It was important for me to envisage my project as an authentic 18th Century chapbook - not only in the style of language I used, but also the visual representation. Chapbooks were illustrated by wood-cut prints - of a variety of quality - but many of the few surviving examples show very lively and intricate designs, as a likely attempt to arrest the reluctant buyer, and convince them that this 'penny merriment' would be entertainment worth the investment.

So ensued my hunt for a printer. I'm fortunate that there are many artists populating Lewes, so it wasn't far into my search when I received an email from a willing collaborator. I dropped in for a chat about what I was looking for, threw ideas, titles and kanji at her and to my delight, within days she had produced a preliminary sketch, then only a few days after that two stunning prints!

So here, above this text,  is James Tankard in his salad days, swaggering and sassy. Envisaged by the very talented Miki Brightmore. But even more glorious is this lovely two colour version:

We loved the drama of this image ... then I saw the film poster below. Spooky!