2010/25

The Map that Came to Life,

Harry (Henry) James Deverson (Author), Ronald Lampitt (Artist), Oxford University Press (Publisher)

This book, entitled 'The Map that Came to Life', was written by H. J. Deverson and illustrated by Ronald Lampitt. It was published by Oxford University Press in 1948, and tells the story of two children, John and Joanna, who are spending the summer holidays at their Uncle's farm. They decided to walk the few miles to the nearest town, and take an Ordnance Survey map for guidance. The sub-plot to the story is a lesson in map-reading, and small sections of the map are shown alongside the illustrations of the places the children visit. An inscription inside the book reads 'Xmas 1949. To John from Auntie Beryl'.

book: paper

MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Museum of English Rural Life) – 'The Map that Came to Life described by H. J. Deverson, illustrated by Ronald Lampitt (1906-88). // Purchased by Oxford University Press, 1948. // Inscription inside reads 'Xmas 1949. To John from Auntie Beryl.' // 32 pages. // ... Purchased as part of the Collecting 20thc Rural Culture project.', Collecting 20thc Rural Culture blog [Thursday, 10 June 2010] – The Map that came to Life, 1948 // This is a children's book that captures the essence of what the countryside meant to post-War England. Ours has a hand-written dedication on the inside page: // It tells the story of John and Joanna who are spending the summer holidays at their Uncle George's Two Tree Farm. The children decide to walk the 'few miles' to Dumbleford ( a striking measure of the change in attitudes to child supervision between the middle and the end of the century), where there is to be a country fair, taking with them an Ordnance Survey map for guidance and Rover the dog for company. Along the way, they have some adventures and encounter different aspects of the country scene. // The sub-plot to the story is the lesson in map-reading and how maps help in the interpreation and understanding of the landscape. // The book was first published by Oxford University Press in 1948 and was the work of Harry Deverson (1908-1972), a picture editor well-known in the magazine and newspaper world, who produced the text and his brother-in-law Ronald Lampitt (1906-1988) who was responsible for the illustrations. Lampitt's work spanned a wide range of popular commercial art from posters for the Great Western Railway in the 1930s to magazines and books, including Ladybird books, over the following decades. In respect to this book, his time spent in RAF intelligence during World War II producing drawings from maps for bomber crews seems to have been a decisive influence. Here we have a countryside as seen from the air with all the features indicated on the map carefully picked out on the ground. // For someone who lived through the War and who spent most of his adult life in Sidcup, on the outer fringes of the London suburbs, it is also an idealised countryside of the mind. In clear melodious colour, past and present, Man and Nature are in perfect harmony with not a storm cloud on the horizon.'

, Oxford

1948 - 1949