LONDON.- On 10 July 2015 Ladybird by Design will open at House of Illustration in King’s Cross – an exhibition of over 120 original illustrations from Ladybird Books dating from the late 1950s to the early 1970s.

The exhibition celebrates 100 years since the Ladybird logo was first registered in 1915.

Inspired by Professor Lawrence Zeegen’s book of the same name, which was published in March 2015, the exhibition features iconic images from Ladybird series including People At Work, Shopping With Mother, Science, Nature, Well Loved Tales and Key Words, as well as rare photographs and correspondence.

Specially commissioned illustrations, clever format and compelling design, combined with the quality of the writing, were key to the success of the Ladybird Books.

Colin McKenzie, House of Illustration’s Director, said: “It is difficult to think of a series of books that has had such a profound influence on successive generations of children as Ladybird Books. Ladybird recognised, probably more than any other children’s publisher, the unique power of illustration to capture the present and to conjure up the past in a way that children found irresistible, and this important exhibition celebrates not just these iconic images, but the illustrators who created them.”

Ladybird’s full-colour, full-page illustrations were commissioned from well-known illustrators such as Charles Tunnicliffe (What To Look For titles, series 536), Harry Wingfield (Shopping with Mother, series 563, and Key Words, series 641), Martin Aitchison (Key Words titles), Eric Winter and Robert Lumley (Well-loved Tales, series 606d), John Berry (People at Work, series 606b) and Robert Ayton (Great Inventions and The Story of Oil, series 601).

Selection was rigorous, with only the best commercial illustrators commissioned. Early Ladybird books had 24 illustrations and each book had 56 pages, created out of one sheet of paper which was then folded and cut to size. This was originally an ingenious response to paper rationing, and enabled the books to be sold very cheaply.

Unparalleled in their attention to detail and unique sense of place, the books demonstrate the power of illustration to open up the world to children and their parents, grandparents and teachers alike. They present a compelling piece of visual history, conjuring up life in Britain in more innocent times.