Lawson
Wood (1878 – 1957) was a British artist and illustrator who is probably best remembered
for his humorous depictions of a chimpanzee called Gran'pop – a character
featured in a series of annuals. His work appears to have been very popular on
both sides of the Atlantic and was widely used by advertising agencies, manufacturers
of postcards, trading cards, calendars, puzzles and whatnot. I first saw his drawings
and distinctive signature on the front covers of early issues of the nursery
comic Playhour. Here is the first one with the chimps cover, unsigned:
I
was browsing eBay the other day and found something described as Lawson Wood German Porcelain figurine,
offered by a seller in Germany. I’ve heard about "The Lawson Woodies” line
of wooden toys but not about porcelain figurines. According to the description,
it was made ca. 1930. It depicts a sinister penguin and is 30 cms tall.
I
am not into this kind of collectibles and have no idea about their value but
this example attracted quite a bit of attention and sold for £ 67.00. I wonder
if the buyer wanted it because of Lawson Wood connection or for other reasons?
Anyway, here are some images courtesy of eBay:
In
an unlikely event if you are not familiar with this prolific artist, here are
some fine examples of Lawson Wood's Gran’pop work:
