Ardizzone (Edward) and Maurice Gorham - The Local.

The Local. Lithographs by Edward Ardizzone. Text by Maurice Gorham. Royal 8vo, 23cm, pp.51[1] + 15 inserted lithographs, Cassell & Co, Ltd, La Belle Sauvage, London, 1939.

Illustrated with 14 full-page and 1 double-page lithographs, mostly tipped in and with captions in cursive script by the artist. Grey paper-covered boards, titled in red and black on the front, and with a pen drawing (a version of the lithograph on p.8) lettered by the artist. Endpapers a little toned. Very slight loss to head of spine. A very fresh bright copy of this fragile book.

This, the first of Ardizzone's homages to the English pub, was printed by the Curwen Press and can be seen as a companion to Eric Ravilious's 'High Street'. In the successor volume 'Back to the Local' (1947), Maurice Gorham noted that the unsold copies of 'The local' together with its printed sheets and plates 'went up together in the burning of Cassell's premises in Belle sauvage Yard' during World War II bombing.

'Every pub is somebody's Local.' If you are thinking of a few pints around Maida Vale maybe you can match up the following pubs with Ardizzone's smoky lithographs done for this famous book with Maurice Gorham. 'Diz' lived in this now well-off residential area of West London for most of his life. Amongst the pubs he pictured that are still pulling bitter in 2024 are The Prince Alfred, The Lord High Admiral, The Warrington, The Spread Eagle, The Warwick Castle, The Hero, The Goat Tavern (but that's for the toffs in Mayfair). However, if you don't know where Maida Vale is, what the difference between a Saloon and Public Bar was, or what the rules of cribbage are - just enjoy the exquisite palette, redolent of cigarettes and beer. It's the gentlest possible Mass Observation.