Jolly Surprising

I recently found an illustrated children's book from the 1940s called Jolly Families, by the 'Zoo Man' of the BBC. As I flicked through the pages, it all looked very 'jolly' indeed:

LIONS

 ELEPHANTS

HIPPOS

MONKEYS

But then I reached a page that prompted a sharp intake of breath:

NEGROES

It was a potent reminder of how values have changed.

Who was the person behind these blantantly racist images?

Ironically, they were created by a man who was a prominent anti-fascist; a Jew whose work had been banned by the Nazis. In the 1930s, Walter Trier emigrated to Britain and during the War, helped to produce anti-Nazi proganda material. He later emigrated to Canada, where some of his work is now exhibited in the Art Gallery of Ontario.

It seems odd that a man who was illustrating anti-Nazi posters was also working on this book, creating images that would now be regarded as offensive as the Third Reich posters featuring big-nosed Jews. But life is full of contradictions, isn't it.

Here is a more appealing example of Trier's work:

Sometimes You Can Judge a Book By Its Cover...

Written by Lucy Laing in the 1930s, the text is even more cringingly awful than the cover.

Here's a short extract:

(In this scene, Tom and Hugh find a "little black boy of about twelve years old" standing on his head. The author describes the boy as being "very black", with "thick, woolly hair, twinkling eyes and wide lips beneath which white teeth glistened beautifully")

"Are you our surprise?"

"No, young massa; I'se Sambo," he answered readily.

"Yes, but didn't our father bring you home as a surprise?" asked Hugh.

"Dunno 'bout dat, young massa. Cap'n bought dis chile back from ober de sea in big ship, and he say Sambo got to larn to be a servant."

Next time I start moaning about political correctness, I shall remember this book and shut up.